Swimming Lessons
by Reeves3
Summary: Realising her daughter, Kit Belladonna, needs swimming lessons, Blake is roped in too, where their swimming instructor, and Kit's P.E teacher, happens to be Yang Xiao Long. Blake's past comes back to haunt her as Yang struggles with her confidence but will love bloom between the pair? Who knows? But most of all - ENJOY!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with RWBY.**

 **Author's Note: Hi all! I've been so excited about this story that I've actually finished all the chapters before putting it on here because I wanted it complete so you guys wouldn't have to wait ages for a new chapter. This one has been on the back burner for a while but I had an urge to get it written.**

 **I'm going to update each Friday (before the new RWBY episodes - HYPE) so you guys have something to look forward to before RWBY...that's if you like this fanfic or not. :P**

 **About this fanfic - it's a real world AU (geographically RWBY canon) and there's later mentions of rape/abuse but it does not go into detail but I thought I would put a little warning beforehand. There's lots of drama, lots of love, fluff and all around goodness. :D**

 **Thanks to my good friend Callum for proof-reading this chapter for me and thank you to bsl on fanfiction and tumblr for editing the chapters too! This fic wouldn't be as great without both of your help. :D**

 **So, I think that's all for now, I hope you all enjoy the first chapter!**

 **Reeves3.**

* * *

 **Swimming Lessons**

 **By Reeves3**

 _'Dear Parents/Guardians,_

 _Third Grade students at Vale Elementary School will begin swimming lessons next week on Wednesday mornings. The class will start at 9am and students will be taken by bus to Vale Leisure Centre. Each lesson will be 30 minutes long._

 _Each student is required to bring:_

 _1: Swimsuit_

 _2: A towel_

 _Swimming is a compulsory part of the curriculum, however if there is any reason why your child shouldn't take part for health reasons please explain in the slip below to be given to the head of the P.E. department. We are also looking for parents/guardians to help chaperone the students to and back from the pool. Please tick if you are eligible to volunteer in the box below._

 _Regards_

 _Professor Goodwitch, Principal.'_

Blake Belladonna lowered the creased letter in her hands and peered down at her seven year old daughter, whose similar gazed stared anxiously back up at her. This letter bode quite a problem.

"You could tell them I'm allergic?" Kit piped up, her cat ears raising slightly.

Blake's lips quirked but she shook her head. "I don't think that'll work."

Kit's ears lowered again and she whined. "Why nooooot? My teachers don't know and they don't have to find out." She shuffled forward, hugged Blake tightly around the waist, and stared up with her lips curled into a pout.

After placing the letter down on the kitchen table Blake ran her hands through her daughter's dark locks and smoothed her ears. "I'm not going to lie to your teachers," Kit's pout increased, "but I'm sure you're not the only one who doesn't know how to swim."

"Yeah, they do!" Kit protested. "I heard them all talking about how excited they were. Max said he knew how to dive and swim underwater."

A sigh left Blake as she tried to figure out a way to ease her daughter's worries. Since she was a girl Blake had been afraid of water and so had never learned how to swim - instead deeming it a skill not worth having in order to mask her fears. Now, at twenty-six, she was still afraid and had never learned, but also her daughter hadn't because Blake had been too afraid and unskilled to teach her.

"How about," started Blake, "I go and speak to your P.E teacher tomorrow morning and explain the situation to them."

"Will you get me out of it?" Kit asked, hopeful.

"It's not likely but I'll see what I can do," promised Blake. Kit nodded her head reluctantly and let her arms drop from her mother's sides. Blake watched her take out her homework from her school bag before settling down on the lounge floor to work on it. Blake picked up the letter and placed it on the pile of papers addressed from the school. The clock on the wall ticked to three thirty, so Blake made her way upstairs to change out of her work clothes.

Inside her bedroom Blake set out some casual clothes and stripped herself of the ones she was currently wearing. She worked as a journalist for the local newspaper and although there wasn't a uniform employees were still asked to dress to impress. Soon there was a pile of clothes by her feet and Blake grabbed for her comfortable linen trousers and slid them on. Her eyes briefly wandered across the faded silver scar on her abdomen but she shook her head to ignore the memories that came with it and instead buttoned up her favourite plaid shirt over it.

"Moooooom, I need help," called Kit.

Heading back downstairs Blake approached Kit and sat down behind her on the sofa. "What do you need help with?"

Kit turned slightly to face her mother and placed the piece of paper she was working on, on the coffee table so Blake could see it too. On it was a 10x10 square with numbers from one to ten along the top and side.

"Math, I'm stuck on the nine times table," she said.

At seven years old Kit was already well above her reading age and excelled in everything English, she did well in Science and History too, and even seemed to show a flare for art like her mother, however she was struggling with Math.

"Did you know there's a trick to the nine times table?" Blake asked, earning Kit's undivided attention.

"What is it?" She asked, curious to learn.

Blake's lips spread into a grin and she instructed Kit to hold out her hands in front of her. "Alright, say you're doing nine times four, put down the forth finger on your left hand." Kit did as she was instructed and looked back at her mother for further instruction. "Okay, now count the fingers on the left side of the finger that you put down."

"Three," answered Kit.

Blake nodded. "And now count the remaining fingers on the right side."

Kit glanced at her hands and counted each digit. "Six."

"Now put them together," said Blake.

"Thirty six?" Kit questioned, her brow furrowing slightly.

Blake nodded. "Correct! And that works for each number you multiply by in the nine times table. Think you can fill in the rest of them?"

"Yup!" Kit replied, smiling. She shook her head though, thinking back on something earlier that day. "Why didn't Mrs Peach teach us that in class? She told me to count up with my fingers and that takes ages."

Blake chuckled and leaned down to kiss the top of Kit's head. "You can tell her about the trick tomorrow."

As Kit carried on doing her times tables Blake tucked her feet under herself and reached for the book she was currently reading off the coffee table. Eventually Kit finished her homework and joined Blake on the couch to watch cartoons.

Thursday morning's sky was a dull grey blanket by the time Blake had managed to get Kit ready for school. After locking the front door, the two of them got into Blake's small black Fiat 500 where Kit immediately opened the glove box to pick out a CD to play. Today's choice of music for the car ride was a selection of Disney soundtracks, but as Blake drove her daughter to school a few side glances showed that no amount of replays of Hakuna Matata could help ease Kit's worries about the swimming lessons.

"Remember Velvet is picking you up after school. I'm working late but I'll be home by five," Blake reminded, knowing Kit enjoyed spending time with the rabbit faunus. Blake had known Velvet since childhood and the two had attended same college before ending up living a few streets away from each other.

Kit smiled slightly. "She said she was going to let me borrow her favourite book."

"That's nice of her. Is it _The Velveteen Rabbit_ , she's letting you borrow?" Blake asked, earning a nod from Kit.

"Yup."

Kit's short reply didn't go unnoticed by Blake and neither did her fidgeting in her seat the closer they got to the school's parking lot. "It'll be alright. I'll talk to the teacher and tell her you're nervous. If you want I can volunteer to come watch you in the pool and make sure nothing happens."

"Will you really do that?" Kit asked, her ears perking up.

Blake parked the car in an empty spot and switched off the ignition, effectively cutting off the music, before she twisted in her seat to face Kit. "Of course I would. I can take an hour off work and I'm sure Velvet won't mind picking you up after school while I work late."

Kit grinned widely showing off the single gap in her bottom teeth before launching herself across the car and hugging Blake tightly. Blake smiled and wrapped her arms around her daughter, burying her face in her dark tresses. Every time she held Kit in her arms Blake's memories fondly recalled the first time she had held her. Holding onto that little pink squirming baby, Blake had promised to make sure her daughter would be the happiest she could be.

"Mooom, can't breathe," choked out Kit. Blake quickly let loose her tight grip, not realising how strong she had been holding on, and Kit watched her mother carefully.

"Sorry," apologised Blake.

"It's ok, Mom," Kit reassured, leaning in for another hug.

Eventually the two of them let go and clambered out the car. Blake made sure Kit had put on her gloves and coat before the two of them walked up towards the school. Kit held Blake's hand while kicking at the small pile of orange leaves that had collected on the ground before huddling back to her mother for warmth. Parents stood along the edge of the school fence saying goodbye to their children for the day as the kids screamed and ran around playing with their friends. Instead of waiting by the fence Kit led Blake in through the gate and up to the entrance.

Pressing the button at the side of the building opened the doors automatically and the two of them entered the reception area. Directly to their left was a little open window where the receptionist, Mrs Alistair, busied about sorting through a stack of papers. In front of them was a large hall where the students had their meals, while to the right a couple of hallways led in opposite directions toward the classrooms.

Mrs Alistair noticed them enter before Kit had chance to ring the little bell on the shelf under the window. "Hello there, can I help you?" She greeted, warmly, while walking over to them and taking a seat on her computer chair.

Blake gave a small nod. "Hi, yes I'm looking for the P.E. teacher. Are they available to talk to for a moment?"

Mrs Alistair smiled, "Yes, she's in the staff room. I'll go get her for you."

As Mrs Alistair got up from her seat and left the room from a door at the back of her room Blake glanced down at Kit who was busy taking a pin in and out of a corkboard.

"Who is your P.E. teacher? I don't think I've met them yet," asked Blake. The two parent-teachers conferences she'd attended so far had only been with Kit's class teacher for that year. Physical Education was the only subject that required another teacher for the students and gave the other teachers a well deserved hour break.

Kit grinned. "Miss Xiao Long, she's great and really funny!"

The door between the window and the entrance to the hallway opened and Blake's ears swivelled towards the noise. Her eyes travelled over to the source of the noise as the person stepped through the archway and immediately Blake was transfixed. Golden curls bounced and swayed with each step she took and as her bright lilac eyes caught Blake's, a lopsided smirk was tugged onto her plump lips. Her thigh muscles were on full display thanks to the very short shorts she was wearing, and if they were any indication of how muscular the rest of her was then Blake really wished the woman wasn't wearing that hoodie.

"Hi Miss Xiao Long!" Kit yelled, waving her arm erratically next to Blake.

Amber eyes widened even more considerably as Blake realised this was her daughter's P.E. teacher. She mentally shook herself to gather her thoughts and behave professionally. This was not the time to flirt with strangers. A pang of guilt gnawed at her stomach realising this woman probably got a lot of unwanted attention from the single parents of her students that probably wasn't reciprocated.

"Hey Kit Kat," greeted Miss Xiao Long, with a large wave of her own.

Blake's ears flattened so quickly against her head they made a small clap sound and she suddenly had to suppress a growl. Everything Blake had thought before was ready to fly out the window if this woman was racist towards faunus.

"Excuse me?" She questioned, a little affronted.

Miss Xiao Long's eyes widened and she opened her mouth to reply but Kit beat her to it. "That's my nickname mum! Miss Xiao Long gives everyone nicknames."

"Oh," said Blake, easing slightly, but still suspicious. "So why is yours Kit Kat?"

Miss Xiao Long decided to answer this time, raising her gloved hands up in defence to Blake. "I promise you it's not a race thing," she started, making Blake raise an eyebrow, and the blonde lowered her hands. "See, during one of my lessons Kit's sugar level dropped, she got the shakes so I gave her a Kit-Kat to eat. Well I guess Kit never had a Kit-Kat before because she got ecstatic that her name was on a chocolate bar so I call her Kit Kat now because it always makes you smile." The P.E. teacher directed that last bit towards Kit who giggled and nodded her head.

Blake slowly relaxed, a smile easing onto her face. If it made Kit happy then she would be fine with it. She knelt down in front of Kit and smiled. "Kit, why don't you run along and play while I talk to Miss Xiao Long? I'll see you at five, alright? And remember Velvet is picking you up after school."

"Okay, bye Mom," said Kit. Blake kissed her cheek and stood back up as Kit opened the door and ran outside to the playground.

"She's great at gymnastics."

Blake jumped hearing Miss Xiao Long's voice behind her and she turned around to face her. Realising what she had said Blake smiled fondly.

"I'm not surprised, she takes after her mother in that respect," said Blake.

Miss Xiao Long gestured for Blake to follow her into the large hall. The door shut behind them and Miss Xiao Long pointed over to the climbing apparatus against the wall.

"I had that out for the first time for Kit's grade last month and before I had even got through roll call Kit had managed to climb up to the top of it. I didn't even notice until she answered 'yes miss' to her name!" Miss Xiao Long exclaimed, drawing a small chuckle from Blake.

"Yeah, she has a knack for climbing. When she was four I couldn't find her so I called out her name and I heard her telling me to be quiet because she was taking a nap. Where she was taking a nap? On top of my wardrobe," Blake recalled, causing the blonde to laugh out loud.

"No way!" she giggled. Her laughter soon died down and she held out a covered hand for Blake to shake. "I'm Yang, Yang Xiao Long. I don't believe we've met yet."

Blake smiled and took the hand in her own to shake, noticing how firm it was beneath the woollen glove. "No, I don't think we have. I'm Blake Belladonna. It's nice to meet you Yang."

"Likewise," beamed Yang, as they let go of each other's hand. "So, Mrs Belladonna, what can I do for you?"

Blake's eyes widened. "Oh no, it's Miss."

"Ah, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have presumed," apologised Yang, rubbing a hand behind her neck.

"It's alright, I'm here to talk to you about the swimming lessons," started Blake, earning a nod from Yang, prompting her to continue. "I never taught Kit how to swim and she's worried she's going to be left behind by her class. I've mentioned to her that I could possibly help volunteer on Wednesdays so she can be more at ease."

Yang brought the hand from the back of her neck up to her chin and nodded a couple of times. "Alright, first of all you're more than welcome to volunteer, it'll be a great help when I'm teaching and struggling watch thirty children. The kids are put into groups based on their skill level, so Kit will be around classmates who aren't partially adept to swimming straight away."

"I realise that, but Kit's pretty afraid," stressed Blake. Yang stayed silent for a moment as her lilac eyes searched Blake's, scrutinizing her, as though trying to see into her mind and read it. Eventually she blinked and looked away then back before taking a deep breath.

"Do you mind if I ask you something personal?"

Blake squinted, and arched a brow. "Depends what it is, but go on."

Yang smiled, slyly. "How come you haven't taught Kit how to swim yet?"

 _'Darn, she's seen right through me!'_ To anyone else Blake would be prone to say she had never got around to it, but her words from yesterday reeled back in her mind and she realised she couldn't bring herself to lie. Plus, Yang was staring at her with a knowing look and she realised she would be caught instantly.

"I never taught her because I don't know how to swim either. I've been afraid of the water since I was a child," admitted Blake, with a sigh. Yang made a small _ah_ sound and put her hands into her sweater's front pocket.

"So, is it possible you've projected your own fears onto Kit and she's not really scared of the water but has learned from you to be afraid of it?" Yang questioned.

Blake's mouth got caught halfway from arguing with her but reluctantly she realised Yang had a point. She tried several quick times at coming up with a reason why Yang was wrong, but each one failed and she ended up squinting at the blonde.

"Are you a psychologist or a P.E. teacher?" She asked, sceptically. Worry crept up on her as she realised that might have sounded rude but Yang laughed and shook her head.

"Nah, I'm just good at reading people," she said, happily. "And you're pretty easy to read."

A faint blush tinted Blake's cheeks as she hoped Yang hadn't been reading her too closely when she first laid eyes on her. Thankfully Yang broke her thoughts with a small cough of awkwardness of her own and changed the subject; saving Blake from any further embarrassment.

"Y'know, besides teaching, every Saturday I do private swim lessons for all ages at the Vale Leisure Centre. The first class is free and each session is forty minutes. How about you and Kit come along and I can teach you both? I can get Kit comfortable with being in the water in time for her first school swim lesson next week? Does that sound good? I promise everything goes at the students' pace and won't be rushing either of you," offered Yang.

Blake was stunned, that was generous, but now she was also nervous to face her own fears. "Are you sure?"

Yang smiled. "Absolutely!"

She pulled out her phone from her pocket and took one of her gloves off so she could bring up her calendar. "I've got an open slot at ten thirty, is that okay with you?"

Blake rummaged in her bag until her hand brushed against her diary. She grabbed the book and pulled it out before flicking through the pages for the upcoming Saturday. "Uhh, yes, that's fine. Are you sure you don't mind?"

Yang chuckled and shook her head as she typed in Blake's name. "It's no problem at all. Here take my number in case something comes up."

After writing down the phone number Yang gave her, Blake gave her own number to Yang too in case something needed to change on her end. Afterwards the two of them put away their phone and diary and stood staring at one another.

"So, I'll see you and Kit this Saturday then?" Yang asked, running her hand through her golden locks and smiling hopefully at Blake.

 _'What on Earth have I got us into, Kit?'_

"Yeah, you will."

* * *

 **I should probably also point out this fanfic not sponsored by kit kats. :P**

 **So, what did you guys think? Leave a review and let me know! I always love feedback.**

 **Also I adore Kit, she's my favourite lil OC I've made, and I hope you guys find her cute too. :D**

 **Next chapter Friday! :D**

 **Reeves3.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with RWBY.**

 **Author's Note: Oh wow, there's been so much positive feedback on here and tumblr for this fanfic, and it makes me so happy that you all liked the first chapter and the idea. :D**

 **As promised, here's chapter 2!**

 **Thank you to my good friend Callum for proof reading for me. :D**

 **Reeves3.**

* * *

 **Chapter Two**

By the time Saturday rolled round Blake's nerves had reached an uncomfortable level where her stomach kept twisting and turning. Kit appeared to be in the same boat as Blake, yet was curious to go swimming for the first time. She also seemed very happy, and excited to show off, that her new swimming costume had Ariel from The Little Mermaid on it.

"Kit, are you ready to go?" Blake called, from the bottom of the staircase.

"Yeah," shouted Kit, from inside her bedroom. Blake waited for a few seconds then heard hurried footsteps run along the landing and down the staircase. The plait Blake had styled Kit's hair into swung from side to side as she bounded up to her mother's side clutching her swimming bag.

Peeking inside her bag Kit checked she had everything then pulled it tight. "I'm ready! Are you?"

Blake smiled and showed Kit her own swim bag that was hanging off her shoulder. "As I'll ever be." She replied, trying not to show how nervous she really was.

Opening the front door, Kit stepped out first and waited by the car as Blake locked up the front door, then opened up the car for them both. Instead of putting on any music Kit chatted about the current book she was reading, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and which House Blake would be put in.

"Everyone wants to be in Gryffindor but I think you're a Ravenclaw mum because you're really smart."

"Oh really?" Blake asked, interested. "And what House would you be in?"

Kit shrugged. "I think I'd be in Ravenclaw with you. I want to be a Gryffindor, but I don't think I'm brave enough."

"You're plenty brave enough Kit," reassured Blake. "You're facing a fear today and so am I; you can be both brave and smart just like Hermione is."

"Yeah, that's true. We'll be Ravendor's, mum," giggled Kit, causing Blake to laugh too.

In ten minutes they had made it to Vale's Leisure Centre, arriving at twenty minutes past ten, where Blake parked next to a sleek yellow and black sports bike. Kit hopped out the car and walked around to the front as Blake got out of the driver's side.

"That's Miss Xiao Long's bike," Kit pointed out. Blake eyed the bike as they walked past it, heading into the building. _'Of course she would drive something like that,'_ she mused, thinking how perfectly the colours suited Yang.

The doors automatically opened as the two of them approached, just as a family with two kids were leaving, and they silently slid shut once everyone was out the way. There was a faint smell of chlorine in the lobby with a circular reception desk stationed in the middle, while chairs and a couple of vending machines lined the walls. A sign above them indicated that the hallway in front of them led to the sport halls while the steps lead to the gym. To their left were two doors, each one with a plaque on it, signalling they were the male and female changing rooms for the swimming pool. Two men, one with electric blue hair and the other with sandy blond, stood on opposite sides of the counter as the blond showed the other something on his phone.

"-look at them and she's like _'really? In front of my salad.'_ It's so funny," laughed the blond, a similar coloured furry tail curling up behind him.

"I can't believe they're doing that. Honestly por-oh hey!"

At the blue haired man's sudden alarmed voice, the monkey faunus slammed down his phone on the desk and the pair of them greeted Blake and Kit with wide smiles. The name tags on their shirts read 'Sun' and 'Neptune'.

"I better get to my next session upstairs. I'll see you later Nep," Sun quickly said, grabbing his phone before rushing off towards the stairs. Neptune said a quick 'see ya' and turned his attention to Blake and Kit.

"Hi there, welcome to Vale Leisure Centre, looks like you're going for a swim. Kids go in free but for adults it's £2.50," said Neptune, opening up the till.

"We have a lesson booked with Yang Xiao Long, do I still need to pay or does the fee I pay her go towards the centre?" Blake asked, reaching into her bag to get her purse out just in case. Realisation broke across Neptune's face and he grinned while shutting the till back up.

"Ahh, you're one of Yang's students! Then nope you don't need to pay here. What you pay her, a small portion goes to us too so she can rent out a couple of lanes for her lessons," he explained. Blake nodded and stopped reaching for her purse as Neptune handed her the log book to sign herself and Kit in.

"Alright, perfect," he said, taking the book back from Blake. "Over there are the changing rooms, have fun with your lesson."

"Thank you," said Blake, following Kit as she rushed ahead to the doors. The smell of chlorine got stronger as they entered the changing room. Light blue lockers lined down one wall while opposite them were several cubicles for private changing and in the centre there were benches and pegs for people to rest and hang their bags or clothes on. Further down there were more cubicles but each one had a shower fitted in it. The tiled floor was wet and slippery under their shoes as Blake led Kit to the centre of the room where the benches were.

Having planned ahead the two of them were already in their costumes, so after removing their clothes and shoes they took their towels out of their bags and stuffed their dry clothes in their instead. The wet floor under their feet wasn't very pleasant as Blake led them over to an open locker where they stored their items. Locking it up Blake tied the plastic bracelet with the key on it around her wrist and the second she was finished Kit grabbed her hand.

Her ears were flattened against her skull and she was biting her lip while jittering on the spot. Blake knelt down in front of her.

"It'll be alright, I'll be beside you all the time and you don't have to do anything you're not comfortable with," she reassured. Kit nodded, still trembling slightly.

"Besides it's me who should be the nervous one. What are these people going to think of a grown woman not being able to swim?" Blake teased, making Kit smile. Holding hands, the two of them walked down the length of the changing room and towards the showers where it turned to the right leading out into the pool. Walking out onto the pools side, the sight of the water caused Blake's insides to squirm uncomfortably and her heartbeat joined in the fray, thudding in her chest like a jackhammer the moment she saw Yang.

Honestly it was like a scene out of Baywatch just seeing her standing at the shallow end of the pool, clad in a sunset orange one piece, with her wet hair tied up in a loose bun. By her feet was one fully inflated armband while she held the second up to her mouth to blow air into it. She noticed Blake and Kit appear through the entrance and took the nozzle out her mouth while turning to face them. For the second time in just a few short seconds Blake was blown away once more. Yang was missing her right arm from above her elbow, leaving a scarred stump, and Blake hadn't even noticed.

 _'I could have sworn I shook her hand the other day with that hand,'_ thought Blake, thoroughly puzzled. Kit on the other hand seemed less puzzled and more fascinated as all her fear from before seemed to fly right out the window as she let go of Blake's hand and ran towards her teacher.

"Miss Xiao Long, what happened to your arm?!"

It happened in slow motion in Blake's eyes as Kit slipped on the wet floor and started falling face first to the floor. As if she had predicted what was going to happen, the second Kit had started running, Yang had already surged forward, dropping the armband, and wrapped her arm around Kit's chest saving her from injury. Blake rushed over as quick as she could in a stiff walk while Yang helped Kit stand back up on her own feet.

"Careful there, Kit Kat. First rule when you're at a pool is no running along the poolside," warned Yang.

Kit played with the end of her plait. "Sorry miss," she mumbled, sheepishly.

Yang grinned at her and brought that grin up to Blake too as she reached Kit's side. "It's no problem and you can call me Yang while we're not in school, okay?"

Nodding her head Kit smiled up at Yang then pointed at her stump. "But what happened to your arm? It was there yesterday."

"Kit!" Blake scolded, then glanced apologetically at Yang. "I'm so sorry, she's-,"

Yang held up her hand, cutting Blake off, and beamed at them. Blake didn't miss the hint of sadness behind it no matter how wide Yang smiled. "It's alright, I get it a lot from people."

She looked down at Kit and grinned mischievously. "Do you ever see those signs at the zoo that say 'don't feed the animals'?" Kit nodded her head, her attention solely focused on Yang, and even Blake was enraptured with where this story was going. "Well, you should listen to them, a penguin did this to me."

Matching frowns appeared on Kit and Blake's faces making Yang laugh at their expressions. Blake quickly realised Yang was masking the truth with jokes but Kit hadn't realised and was trying to figure out how a penguin could do that. Before she could ask any more questions however Yang picked up the fallen armbands and handed them to the young faunus child.

"Here, slide these up your arms," she said, then beamed at her students. "So, are you two ready to swim?"

If Yang was hoping for an enthusiastic response to that she didn't get one. Yang shook her head at the two of them but was smiling anyway. She lead them over to the edge of the pool as Kit slid an armband up each arm. The first two lanes were sectioned off by lane dividers while everyone else, Blake spotted several young men and women, a couple of elders and a family of five, who were all splashing and swimming lengths up and down on the other side of the divider.

Yang sat down at the edge of the pool, sliding herself into the water and turned to face Blake and Kit who remained standing at the side.

"Alright, let's get you two comfortable, how about we start off with you both sitting on the edge and dipping your feet in?"

Doing as they were told Blake carefully lowered herself on the floor, as she noticed Yang's eyes on her, she urged herself to remain calm. This was the first time in a long time she was showing this much skin and it happened to be in front of a rather attractive woman whose attention she currently had. Once Kit and Blake had seated themselves on the edge of the pool they put their feet into the water next. It was pleasantly warm.

Yang bobbed in front of them. "So, let me ask you two, what's bothering you most about getting in the water?"

"I don't like the water. It's scary," answered Kit, straight away.

Yang arched a fine brow. "And why's that?"

Kit kicked her feet, making small splashes, as she thought about her answer. A couple of seconds later she gave a small shrug. "I don't know," she admitted.

Yang nodded her head. "Okay, and what about you Blake?"

"I never learned as I was growing up so I never saw it as a skill worth having. Also, I've never really enjoyed being in big bodies of water."

"Fair enough," said Yang. "But trust me when I say that swimming is worth knowing. It may one day save your life. Now this area here is only one meter deep and the deepest point at the other end is five meters deep, we're not in the ocean and there's nothing that can hurt us here. Blake, I want you to join me in the water and show Kit Kat it's not scary."

To show them how shallow it was Yang stood up to full height and the water stayed rippling around at her waist. Blake blushed, embarrassed that such a small amount of water was causing her to fret, fears were irrational, she knew that and the logical part of brain told her she would be fine. Taking a deep breath Blake slowly slid herself into the water and Yang came to stand next to her.

"See, already conquering your fears, nice job," said Yang, smiling.

Blake let out an unsteady laugh. "I've still got a long way to go."

"Well you've made your first big step. I want you to practice slowly lowering yourself further into the water and let me know if you want a pool noodle or a kickboard to rest on. Keep a hand on the side if you would prefer," instructed Yang. Blake nodded, as she decided that keeping a hand on the side would be best for now as she slowly bent her knees.

"How do you feel about joining us Kit Kat?" Yang asked, taking a few steps over to Kit. Blake looked over at her daughter, who looked tempted, and smiled encouragingly. After she and Yang had talked at the school Blake had realised she didn't want to project her own fears onto Kit, which she reluctantly admitted she had been doing, if accidentally, and now wanted to make amends by being there for her daughter and fighting their fears together.

Kit continued to nibble at her lower lip as she stared down at her lap.

"Do you want to swim like the Little Mermaid?" Yang asked, pointing at Ariel's smiling face on Kit's swimming costume. Kit looked down at the Disney character then looked back up at Yang full of doubt.

"No one can swim like a mermaid."

Yang smiled deviously and backed away from Kit turning away from the two of them to face the deep end of the pool. With a small jump Yang extended her arm forward and dived under the water, where she remained, as she kept her legs together and moved them up and down in time with her rising chest and lowered hips. It was as if she was making a wave motion with her body. When she reached the halfway point she turned around underwater and started doing the same mermaid swimming technique until she arrived back to Kit and Blake.

She breached the water in front of Kit, took a few deep gulps of air, and wiped the water from her face. Kit was watching Yang in amazement with a wide grin spread from cheek to cheek.

"I want to do that!" She exclaimed, excitedly. She shuffled forward on her bum right to the edge of the pool but Yang grabbed her around the side before she could drop in.

"Let's lower you in slowly like your mum is doing, yeah? We'll have plenty of time to swim like a mermaid in the future," laughed Yang. Kit nodded but was still grinning widely as Yang gently lowered them both into the water. With the armbands around her biceps Kit remained floating above the water safely but Yang still kept a hold on her because she didn't want to rush her.

"How did you hold your breath for that long? Will I be able to do that? Can you teach me?" Kit asked, in rapid fire.

"All in due time," said Yang. Blake watched them as Yang carried Kit over to her and indicated to the side of the pool behind Blake. "Could you grab the pool noodle for me please Blake?"

"Sure."

Turning around Blake reached for the light blue pool noodle and let it float in the water next to them. For the next twenty minutes Yang let them continue to get used to being lowered in the water until Blake finally got the water going over her breasts. Speaking of, Blake couldn't help noticing how the young men, who were secretly fighting amongst themselves to get as close to the other side of the pool divider as possible, once they completed a length they stopped in the shallow end to simply ogle at Yang's voluptuous chest. Blake had obviously noticed the buoyancy of Yang's breasts but she had respectfully adverted her eyes unlike the men who were openly gawking at her. When they realised they had been caught red handed by Blake, spotting the glare she was giving them, they swam off.

"The pair of you are doing amazing," complimented Yang. "Alright Kit Kat, let's get you holding onto the side with one hand and getting used to floating on your own."

Drifting over to the edge Kit grabbed the side of the pool and Yang let go of her. Kit kicked her legs in a small panic but once she realised she wasn't going under the water she relaxed. Slowly, she tested to see if she could touch the floor.

"I can stand up here," said Kit, her chin tilted up towards the ceiling to stop the water from splashing in her face.

"Great job! Hold onto the side and keep kicking your legs while I help out your mum for a bit," instructed Yang. Kit nodded her head and did as she was told as Yang moved over till she was by Blake's side. "Are you ready to try floating in the water?"

Blake's stomach filled with butterflies with how close Yang was to her. The blonde grabbed the pool noodle and placed it in front of Blake's chest before sliding the two ends under her arms. Yang then drifted round to stand directly behind Blake and positioned herself to act like a chair. Her arm hovered around Blake's waist but didn't touch her which ramped Blake's heartbeat up from ten to a thousand.

"Whenever you're ready lift your feet off from the floor," murmured Yang, her voice extremely close to Blake's left ear. "I'm right behind you in case you panic and lose your balance."

Blake swallowed thickly and took a deep breath. Why did her daughter's P.E teacher have to be the most beautiful and sweetest woman she had ever laid eyes upon? Deciding to focus on the task at hand Blake took a few timid little steps off the floor before slamming her feet back down on the ground.

"You won't go under. I'm right here," promised Yang. Nodding her head Blake breathed in deep, squeezed her eyes shut then lifted her feet clear off the floor. Her body dipped but she stayed above the water thanks to the pool noodle as she gripped hold of it for dear life. Her legs kicked wildly out below her, accidentally hitting Yang's legs a couple of times, as she struggled to stay calm.

A gentle hand touched her left hip, and Blake felt her cheeks heat up as she felt herself sitting on Yang's thighs under the water. "Easy, nice gentle kicks, your weight is resting on the noodle and keeping you afloat. Keep your eyes on me and take deep breaths."

Yang moved slightly to Blake's right so she could see her more clearly but kept her legs stationed underneath Blake. Opening her eyes Blake turned her head and stared at Yang as panic filled her eyes. She watched Yang start some rhythmic breathing which Blake started to mimic as she stared into Yang's reassuring gaze. Blake's heart and legs started to slow down after a couple of minutes and Yang gave a gentle smile.

"You're doing it," she said. Blake blinked, wondering what she was talking about, and finally took her gaze off the blonde only to see that Yang had moved away from her and now she was floating on her own. Blake's ears perked up and she let out a small laugh.

"Unbelievable. My parents won't believe this when I call them up later," breathed Blake, relieved, making Yang chuckle.

"They'll be very proud as I'm sure you are too. Take a look at Kit Kat," she said. Turning her head in the other direction Blake saw Kit floating on her own too and was grinning happily. Pride did indeed swell in Blake as she watched her daughter reach a new milestone, and overcome her anxiety and fear from earlier.

"How're you doing, Kit Kat?" Yang asked, swimming over to Kit. Blake chose to ignore how reluctant she felt to have Yang move away from her.

"Good, this isn't so bad," she admitted. "I can't wait for swimming lessons next Wednesday."

"You'll be fine and your mum will be there too," said Yang. Kit and Blake both nodded their heads and Yang glanced up at the large clock towards the deep end placed high on the wall. "Unfortunately our time is up. I've got my next lesson in five minutes. Do you have any questions about anything?"

"Yes, I do," mentioned Blake, gaining Yang's attention. "What time next Saturday?"

Yang's grin was going to stay in Blake's mind for a while.

When they got out of the pool and handed the armbands back to Yang, Blake led Kit back into the changing rooms after saying thank you and goodbye to Yang. They rinsed themselves off in the shower first before retrieving their items from the locker, then picked a cubicle to get dried and dressed in. Blake was the first one to finish up getting dressed before waiting a few minutes more for Kit to appear. She exited a short while later but had ended up putting her top on back to front so Blake quickly helped her put it on the right way around before they left the establishment.

In the car Blake put their bags in the backseat before starting up the engine and slowly backing out of the car park.

"So you didn't know Yang was missing an arm?" Blake asked, inquisitive.

Kit shook her head. "I know she has one though. She picks us up so we can slam dunk the basketballs."

Blake smiled fondly at the idea of Yang doing that. "She must wear a prosthetic then," she figured. A troublesome thought rumbled in her mind then like a thundercloud. "Kit, don't mention it to your other classmates, alright?" She stressed. "I think Yang hides it at school for a reason."

A small nod confirmed that her daughter understood. "Okay, mummy, I won't."

* * *

 **Author's Note: Be weary of those penguins...O_O**

 **I hope you liked the chapter and don't forget to leave a review! :D**

 **Reeves3.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with RWBY.**

 **Author's Note: Woooooo! Chapter 3 is here folks! Thank you all so much for the lovely reviews in the last chapter. It truly makes my week reading them, and I am so happy so many of you are loving this fanfic. :D**

 **There's a bit of rude language and sexual talk in this chapter a bit further down so heads up for that.**

 **Thank you to my good friend Callum for proof reading this chapter for me.**

 **I hope you all like this chapter too! :D**

 **Reeves3**

* * *

 **Chapter Three**

A line of thirty children, aged between seven to eight year olds, stood impatiently on the footpath in the school's parking lot, next to the large bus which would take them to the Vale Leisure Centre. Blake stood at the back of the queue watching the kids talk excitedly with one another and swing their swim bags around knocking them against other kids. Up at the front was another volunteer, Nick Greene, who was hovering over Yang's shoulder as she took the register. Each time she ticked off a name on the clipboard that child walked up and boarded the bus.

Having a surname that began with the second letter of the alphabet Kit had been one of the first to board the bus. Blake could just about see her though from where she stood. She was seated by the window and peeking behind to pull faces at her mother. As the line moved down and Blake stood directly at the window below Kit, she folded down one ear and pointed the other one up one after the other, causing Kit to giggle.

"-Elaina, hop on up, Jasper leave that caterpillar alone and head on the bus, and finally we have Blake!" Yang put down the board and grinned at Blake who smiled shyly at her in return. There was a cough behind Yang who jumped out of her skin and they both turned to look at Nick.

"Are we ready to go?" He asked, clapping a hand on Yang's shoulder making her jolt.

"Yup, all the kids are on board," said Yang, picking Nick's hand off her shoulder and letting go of it quickly. Nick ignored it and overly gestured for the two of them to board the bus ahead of him and, after giving each other a quick wide eyed glance, they stepped upon the bus with Nick following Blake.

The bus driver started to pull away and Yang took a seat directly behind him and Blake sat down beside her. Nick took one of the seats across from them looking mildly put off but Blake hardly gave it a second thought because Yang let out a relaxed sigh beside her and ran her right hand through the top of her hair. Blake noticed it was covered in a black glove again and she wore her hoodie once more to hide the whole arm.

"So," started Yang. "How've you been since Saturday?"

"I've been good. My parents couldn't believe Kit and I had gone swimming," said Blake, smiling.

"Oh yeah? What did you tell them?"

"I told them how I actually got into the water managed to stay calm while floating. Of course I talked about how brilliant Kit did and then I mentioned the great supportive teacher we had," praised Blake, her smile broadening at seeing Yang's cheeks turn pink.

"Oh?" Yang exclaimed, over exaggerating as she crossed her leg, placed her elbow on her knee, and cupped her chin in her hand. "Tell me more about this great and supportive teacher!"

Blake laughed quietly and shook her head as Yang laughed along too before their giggles settled down after a few minutes. Behind them the children began singing 'The Wheels On The Bus' and Yang bobbed her head from side to side with the tune.

"Can I ask you something?" Blake asked, leaning in close so Yang could hear her over the noise. That was the excuse she gave herself anyway.

"Sure," nodded Yang, scooting a little closer too.

"How long have you been teaching for?"

"Teaching swimming or teaching P.E?"

"Both," replied Blake, curious for each answer.

"I've been teaching P.E for four years here and I've been doing my swimming lessons for eight years. I started the swimming lessons to help pay for my university courses," explained Yang.

"It sounds like you've planned on being a teacher for a long time," mentioned Blake, rather impressed. Yang's smile faded at Blake's words and she realised she had said something wrong by the way Yang moved away clutching at her right arm where the stump met her prosthetic.

"I guess," she sighed, staring out the window as the bus started to slow down outside the front of the leisure centre. Blake could just make out the pained expression on Yang's features in the reflection of the glass. As the bus came to a halt Yang looked back at Blake but her smile didn't quite reach her eyes. "A lot of it was down to fate, really."

Standing up from her seat Blake watched as the sadness was masked with a large smile and shining bright eyes. "Okay everyone, we're here. I want a single file lining up outside the bus, Mr Greene will show us where the line will begin. Miss Belladonna, do you mind checking that the bus is empty once everyone is off?"

Blake nodded as she stood up along with Nick and he headed off the bus to begin the start of the line. Yang stood by the bus driver and counted heads as the children began to push and shove forward to get off the bus first thinking that would make them get into the swimming pool faster. Kit cheekily stuck her tongue out at Blake as she passed by then scampered off the bus giggling away.

Yang followed the last child off the bus but before Blake got off herself she walked up the length of the bus checking each section for hiding kids or forgotten bags. As she expected nothing was left behind so she joined at the end of the queue as the kids started to march towards the entryway following Yang. The same blue haired man, Neptune, as Blake recalled, from Saturday was there to greet them all with a cheery wave. As they approached the changing rooms the boys followed Nick into the men's room while the girls followed Yang as Blake brought up the rear.

The girls started putting on their costumes, Blake noticing Kit looking a lot less anxious from their first lesson the other day, as Yang came up to Blake holding her clipboard.

"I just need to go do a health and safety check in the pool and make sure all the gear has been prepared. I'll be right back." Blake nodded and Yang walked down the changing room and turned right towards the pool.

"Miss," said a quiet voice by Blake's side. She glanced down to see a brown haired girl who had her head through the arm strap. "Can you help me? I think my straps are twisted."

Blake smiled and helped the child get her arms through the correct straps. After she was finished the girl thanked her and moved to pile her clothes together on the bench as another girl came up to Blake requesting to tie up her hair. While she was tying the girl's hair in a plait Blake nearly jumped out of her skin hearing the sudden burst of laughter down at the other end of the room. Glancing across she saw Yang struggling to contain her composure as Kit grinned by her legs and another girl, with bleach blonde hair, scowled at Kit.

"Kit Kat, you get a house point," laughed Yang, then calmed down to give a stern look to the other girl, "Charlotte, I don't want to hear you being rude again, okay? If I hear you saying any other mean things, you'll be sitting out."

Wondering what that had been about Blake went back to helping the girl tie her hair up figuring she would find out from Kit later. Pretty soon all the girls were ready and following Yang outside to the pool where the boys joined up with them and she got them sitting on the floor along the floor to ceiling windows. The water was calm with a few occasional ripples from the small jets around the edges. On the opposite side there was door, leading to the supply closet, outside of which was a pile of blown up armbands, three stacks of kickboards and a sack of something but Blake wasn't sure what was inside it. A pool divider floated horizontal across the pool to cut the children off from travelling too deep.

Blake and Nick stood off to the side as Yang addressed her students.

"Before I tell you what we'll be doing today, let's go over so of the Swimming Pool Rules, who can tell me what some of these rules could be?

Kit's hand shot up and Yang pointed at her.

"No running," she answered, meekly, recalling her incident last Saturday.

"Excellent Kit Kat! Anyone else?"

A few more hands raised in the air and Yang pointed to a skinny boy with red hair in the middle of them all. "Jimmy Jam, what have you got for me?"

"No diving in the shallow end," he answered, knowingly.

"Brilliant! We don't want anyone bashing their noggin' underwater," explained Yang, seriously, causing the children to shake their heads and chant 'no' in agreement. "And who can tell me another rule?"

Fewer hands raised this time but Yang pointed out to a child wearing The Incredible Hulk swim shorts and had his brown hair cut short.

"Alright Sensei Sam, teach me your ways," cheered Yang, clasping her hands in front of her as though in a prayer before bowing down low. Most of the children giggled.

Sam nervously answered. "Umm, don't be mean to others?"

Blake's eyes widened slightly hearing the feminine tone of his voice while beside her she caught Nick mutter his disapproval quietly but she picked it up thanks to her second set of ears. Yang wasn't fazed at all.

"Yes, spot on! I don't want to see anyone being rough with anyone else and if I see someone purposely splashing someone or pushing them underwater you'll be out the pool immediately. Understand?" Yang said, loudly and firmly.

The children nodded their heads and Yang smiled."Good stuff! Alright, what we're going to be learning today is water confidence and a bit of breathing exercises. Now I know some of you might already be pretty happy to get in the water but if you're feeling nervous raise your hands and we'll get you some armbands. There's enough for everyone so don't worry about missing out on some. Can you two help me hand them out?"

Yang directed her question to Blake and Nick who started heading towards the pile of armbands and began handing them out to the children who wanted them. Blake handed a pair to Kit who thanked her and slid them up her arms.

"Alright use the steps to lower yourself in, two lines on either side," instructed Yang. The children stood up off the floor and split up into two groups and one by one started to get into the pool. Blake watched as Kit lowered herself into the water stepping further into the middle of the pool then grinned and gave her mum a thumbs up.

"She's doing great, one of the first ones in," commented Yang, as she passed by Blake.

"Yeah, I can hardly believe it," said Blake. Yang beamed and Blake returned it feeling her cheeks warm up.

For the next twenty minutes Yang played games with the children. To warm up she had them pretend to be a massive washing machine by getting them to link their arms and move in a giant circle pretending to be the spin cycle. Then she had them kick their feet, to make bubbles so the clothes inside the washing machine would be cleaned. The next game she played with them was the body washing game, to help the kids get used to water being on their faces, getting them to cup water in their hands and splash their faces and putting lots of water on top of their heads.

Blake kept a watchful eye on all the children making sure none of them misbehaved or slipped under the water and on the opposite side Nick kept his wondering eyes on Yang. Her ears flattened against her skull when she noticed he wasn't paying attention.

Yang called for their attention after they finished with the body washing game to practice some breathing exercises. She got them singing low notes of 'Ohhhh' when inhaling then going 'Ahhhh' when exhaling all the while teaching them the importance of taking deep breaths instead of short ones to reduce panic and fill their diaphragm full of air to hold their breaths for longer.

Once the breathing exercises were finished with, Yang got the kids to sit on the edge of the pool and then got the three adults to hand out the kickboards to each of the children.

"We're going to play the animal rescue game now," cheered Yang, picking up the mysterious sack Blake had noted earlier. Dipping her hand into it she started throwing plastic animals into the pool where they bobbed and floated helplessly along the top of the water. "I'm going to pick five of you at a time and you'll have one minute to rescue as many animals and place them on your board. The person with the most animals on their board once the time is up wins!"

"But won't the faunus in our class have an extra point?" Charlotte whispered to her friends sitting beside her. The few faunus children with an extra set of ears frowned and some stared down glumly at the water while others, Kit included, glared back at her. She had obviously tried to say it quietly enough just for the faunus to hear but she hadn't counted on being overheard by her teacher however because suddenly Yang was standing directly behind her.

"What did I say to you earlier about being rude? For that Charlotte, you can sit out by the window. I won't have that kind of attitude in my class," warned Yang. Charlotte pulled an ugly expression before getting up and stomping off to sit down on the floor with her arms crossed over her chest. The class had gone quiet as they watched her sulk off but Yang soon got them entertained and shouting for joy by starting up the next game.

During the second round of animal rescue Nick sauntered up to Blake's side and casually looked around.

"She's pretty great, isn't she?" He mentioned, nodding his head towards Yang. Blake glanced at Nick then turned her head towards Yang who was cheering on each of the five kids in the water.

"Uh, yes, she's a great teacher," said Blake, knowing that wasn't what Nick was commenting on. He gave a hum of approval then tried to pry information out of Blake.

"Do you happen to know if she's seeing anyone?"

"I really wouldn't know," huffed Blake, finally giving into her irritation. "We should focus on keeping an eye on the kids and not on Miss Xiao Long."

Nick let out a scoff and moved away purposely walking behind Yang and checking out her rear as he went causing Blake's blood to boil. He had only volunteered just to check out Yang and not help out with the children at all. A whistle blew signalling that time was up to the children and Yang counted up the animals finding the winner for that round. Four more minute long rounds later and the six winners were given a house point each.

Blake collected up the animals off the side of the pool and back into the bag as the lesson drew to an end while Yang got them all to practice floating to cool down. With five minutes left until the end of the lesson Yang called the children to leave the water one at a time using the steps on either side of the pool. They dropped their kickboards on the floor and those that had armbands threw them back into the pile from earlier.

"Nick, could you give me a hand picking up the kickboards?" Yang requested, as the kids marched by leaving trails of water in their wake. They passed by Blake who was waiting by the entrance of the ladies changing room as she made sure none of them ran. Blake waited for the last kid to enter the changing rooms before beginning to follow them in but there was a slam of a door rattling against the wall so she turned around to see what caused it.

Nick had pinned Yang against the supply closet door, an arm beside her head and the other by her hip, effectively trapping her as he leered his body close to hers. If Blake's blood had been boiling before, it was molten lava right now. She gritted her teeth as her ears perked forward in their direction to hear what was being said.

"-a quick one in this cupboard? You're all I've been thinking about, your hot body, your great ass and fantastic tits, I bet they'll be even better in my hands. What do you say?"

Yang's face remained perfectly calm as she gave Nick her answer.

"I think you need to cool off."

With a strong shove against his chest Yang sent Nick stumbling backwards until he fell into the pool with a massive splash. When he surfaced Yang was at the edge of the pool looking down at him so angrily her eyes almost appeared red and her hair glowed like fire. Blake was frozen on the spot staring in awe.

"Count yourself lucky that I'm not going to call the police for sexual harassment Mr Greene," she snapped.

"You bitch!" Nick shouted, wiping the water from his face. He looked around and spotted Blake, and furiously asked her. "Did you see her push me in?!"

Yang's eyes snapped over to hers and Blake shrugged, airily. "I don't know, the floor is pretty wet, are you sure you didn't slip?"

She saw Yang's eyes light up and a large grin appear on her face. Nick shook his head and waded over to the edge.

"Fucking faunus freak," he spat, in Blake's direction.

With an impressive display of strength Yang, grabbing a handful of his shirt, lifted him clear out the water and left him dangling above it.

"Apologise," she growled, danger flashing in her eyes.

"I-I'm sorry," he whimpered, struggling to get out of her grasp.

"Not to me."

Yang dumped him on the floor and he quickly stood up and scurried away from her. He got closer to Blake and uttered a small apology before zipping into the men's changing room where laughter rose up from the boys. Blake watched him disappear into the room and didn't notice Yang approaching, until she placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you alright?"

Blake swallowed and turned to gaze at Yang.

"Nothing I haven't heard before," she sighed. "What about you?"

"I'm fine, I'm used to jackasses like that." Yang also sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I'm really sorry you had to see that. It's been a while since I've lost my temper like that."

Blake nodded her head slowly. "I've seen worse tempers."

Yang's brow furrowed as she started to open her mouth to say something else but Blake quickly cut her off. "We should get back to the children."

Lilac eyes widened considerably. "Oh god, yeah. Uhh, right, yeah, let's go."

Thankfully everyone was busy getting dry and putting their clothes back on. As soon as they were finished they lined up by the door and Blake and Yang checked to make sure nothing was left behind. Yang led them into the entrance where Nick was waiting, with a borrowed towel wrapped around him, he ignored them and Yang gave Blake a small smirk as she passed her by.

Yang stopped to talk to one of the boys that had called for her and let him walk along side her as they exited the building and back towards the bus. A head count was taken again by Yang as the students filed onto the bus one by one. When the last kid hopped up onto the bus Yang held Blake back for a minute.

"I'm going to sit next to Nikos at the front. He's not feeling too good," she mentioned, and Blake could have sworn she sounded almost reluctant about it.

"That's alright. Kit's been pulling faces at me again so I'm going to go have a word with her," teased Blake, causing Yang to let out a snicker.

Blake stepped up onto the bus with Yang behind her and the doors slid shut. Blake walked down the length of the aisle and found Kit sitting by herself in a window seat.

"Hey mum," she greeted, leaning over to hug her mother as she sat down.

"Hello, my little swimmer," praised Blake.

Kit grinned up at her and one of her brown ears twitched from a couple of water droplets dropping down from the fur. The bus began to drive away and the children picked up their singing, this time it was Ten Green Bottles, but Kit didn't join in and continued to cuddle with Blake. Halfway through the journey Blake remembered what she wanted to ask Kit about.

"So what happened this morning in the changing room with Charlotte?" Kit moved back to sit properly in her seat as she explained what happened earlier.

"Charlotte was complaining that Sam couldn't wear shorts because she's a girl but Sam wants to be a boy, so I told her to mind her own business. Then Charlotte said I might as well wear shorts too because I don't have boobs unlike her. Then I said her boobies aren't as big as Miss Xiao Long's-"

Blake's eyes bulged and she hissed quietly. "Kit Belladonna!"

"What? It's true. I heard the boys call them melons," mentioned Kit, nonchalantly.

"I hope you don't," groaned Blake, into her hand.

"No! I call them boobies, that's the technical term," she informed Blake, knowingly. "So Miss Xiao Long was behind me the whole time-" Blake's internal groan was going to last for a century, "-and I didn't know until she started laughing really loud before giving me a house point for standing up for Sam."

Blake put down her hand. "Well that was really good of you for standing up for Sam but you shouldn't talk about other people's breasts."

Kit ended up continuously asking 'why' to each of Blake's answers until they got back to the school.

* * *

 **Author's Note: I hope I wrote Sam respectfully; I wanted some trans representation in this story and I hope I did a good job. If you have any comments or suggestions about my portrayal of Sam and trans issues please leave a comment or message me privately. Your feedback will help me improve. :)**

 **Leave a review and let me know what you think! ^-^**

 **See you next Friday, all! :D**

 **Reeves3**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with RWBY.**

 **Author's Note: Thank you all for the wonderful reviews in the last chapter, all of you reading, all the favourites and alerts too. It makes me want to dance with happiness. :P**

 **Thank you to my good friend Callum for proof reading more me! :D**

 **I hope you all enjoy this chapter too, as now the plot thickens. Muhahahahaha!**

 **Reeves3!**

* * *

 **Chapter Four**

"Mom, can we go yet?"

Blake looked up from her book. Her feet were tucked underneath her, as she sat curled up at the end of the settee, with a blanket partially covering her bare feet. Beside her stood Kit holding her swimming bag by her side and shifting her weight from one foot to the other impatiently. Peering behind Kit's shoulder at the clock resting on the fireplace mantel, Blake took note of the time.

"We've still got half an hour until our lesson. Why don't you do some drawing?" Blake suggested, pointing at the stack of blank paper and array of crayons under the coffee table. Kit glanced behind her at the clock too, slumping her shoulders with the knowledge she had to wait some more before they could leave. Pouting a little, Kit dropped her bag and Blake reached a hand across to rub her daughter's arm reassuringly. With a small smile Kit sat down on the floor and reached for a piece of paper and a pencil then started to draw.

For twenty minutes Kit drew a picture and Blake finished off the chapter she was reading. The second Blake bookmarked her page and placed it down, Kit twisted around to glance at her with a grin and her ears perked up. Blake let out a laugh.

"Yes, it's time to go, go put some shoes on."

Kit scurried up off the floor, grabbing her bag, and ran to go put on her shoes. Blake stood up with a stretch, feeling her costume constricting against her under her clothes. She moved to the front door where her shoes waited and slipped them on. With their swim bags in hand Blake and Kit left the house and clambered into the car. On the short drive the two of them played the red car blue car game. By the time they arrived at the Vale Leisure Centre Kit had ended up winning with sixteen red cars against Blake's twelve blue.

Rain was falling as the two of them got out the car but they weren't bothered too much by it, except for the occasional ear twitch, as they headed for the entrance hand in hand. Neptune was sitting behind the desk dealing with another customer as Blake and Kit walked by to the changing room. He gave them a friendly wave and Blake gave a small nod in acknowledgement.

There were several women drying themselves off at the line of benches as Kit and Blake entered and picked a space in the corner to get undressed. Once they were done Blake stored their items in a locker and tied the plastic bracelet around her wrist tightly. Blake followed Kit, who was walking as quick as she could without slipping to the entrance of the pool, eager to get into the water.

"Yang!"

 _'Or to get to Yang as quick as possible,'_ mused Blake. Not that she could blame her. The blonde in question was sitting at the pools edge leaning back and kicking her feet lightly in the water. A huge grin spread across her face as she saw the pair of them, and Kit eagerly pattered up to Yang's side.

"Hey Kit Kat, didn't you do fantastic on Wednesday?"

Kit bashfully glanced down as she nodded her head. "Can I get in the water?"

Yang appeared generally surprised by the sudden request but she let out a laugh. "Of course you can. Let's get your armbands on you first though, yeah?"

As Yang handed Kit the pair of armbands Blake took a moment to look around the pool. It was busier than last Saturday, with a several more families playing games with their children with borrowed inflatables, a couple of teenage boys were trying to impress some women in their twenties by jumping off the diving board, and a group of three men were relaxing in the deep end laughing with each other. Blake spotted Sun sitting up on the lifeguard tower keeping an overhead view of everyone.

Water splashing by her feet made Blake glance down to see Yang in the water facing Kit who stood at the edge. Yang wrapped her arm around Kit, who put her small arms around Yang's neck, and lifted her up before gently lowering her in the water. Kit let go of Yang and the blonde waited until she saw Kit was content to float on her own and removed her arm from around Kit.

"You remember the washing game?" Yang asked, cupping some water in her hand and splashing it on her face.

"Yup. I even practiced in the bath," replied Kit.

Smiling Blake sat down at the edge of the pool, crossing a leg over the other, content to watch Kit practice floating in the water and splashing water over herself. She saw Yang move over to her however and knew she wouldn't get the luxury of sitting out of the water all lesson. Blake uncrossed her leg and noticed the movement catching Yang's attention. She watched her look, almost fascinated, upon the length of it and lightly bite her lip. Blake gave herself thanks for spending time the previous night shaving them smooth, along with the top of her thighs where the costume didn't quite cover.

Blake lightly kicked her leg splashing water up Yang's front and breaking her out of her reverie. Yang's face flushed realising she had been caught staring. Embarrassed, and a little unfocused Yang blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"So, Blake, are you ready to get wet?"

Blake blushed too but let out laugh as Yang sank under the water. She quickly resurfaced wiping the water from her face.

"That sounded better in my head," she admitted, rubbing the back of her neck.

"It's alright," she said, "and to answer your question, yes I am."

With a deep breath Blake picked herself off the side slightly then dropped herself into the water coming face to face with Yang. She hadn't expected to be that close to the blonde however. She could see herself in the reflection of those lilac orbs and, Blake hadn't noticed before, but there was a light scattering of freckles going across the bridge of her nose. The water around them also heated up slightly and Blake sincerely hoped it was just Yang's body temperature and nothing else.

"Uhh g-great job, there was barely any hesitation there," commented Yang, her throat bobbing as she swallowed.

"What are you doing?" Kit's voice interrupted them.

The two of them jolted apart, as though they had been electrocuted, and they turned to Kit who was standing next to them looking up with those curious honey coloured eyes.

"About to start our lesson!" Yang exclaimed, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. Kit didn't seem to buy the excuse though as her eyebrows knitted together but she didn't say anything, simply accepting the kickboard Yang handed to her.

"Okay so today, I'm going to start teaching you both the basics of the breaststroke. It's the most common swim technique that people learn, it's probably the only swimming stroke that casual swimmers learn," began Yang. "First though I want you, Blake, to get comfortable in the water again and start maybe splashing some water onto your face and over your head like Kit was just doing."

Blake nodded, even if the butterflies in her stomach were begging her to protest.

"So, while your mum does that Kit Kat, you and I are going to practice the frog kick we use for the breaststroke," said Yang, sending a quick nod in Blake's direction to let her know she could start.

For ten minutes Blake dipped herself in and out of the water then stopped occasionally to pour water over her head as she watched Yang help Kit. Her daughter was laying on her front with the kickboard at arm's length as Yang held her body up, by keeping her hand underneath Kit's stomach, while instructing her how to do the frog like motion with her legs. Kit broke out into a fit of giggles each time Yang made a pun about frogs.

Yang met Blake's gaze and gave her a wink before slowly moving her hand off Kit's stomach. Blake's heart jumped fearing Kit was about to sink but relief spread through her when she saw Kit managing to stay afloat and pushing herself around with her legs. It didn't last long though because Kit soon realised she was doing it on her own and panicked slightly, however Yang was there to quickly put her hand back and keep her balanced.

"Don't do that again," moaned Kit, playfully.

Yang chuckled. "Yeah, but you did it!"

Kit's face broke out into a grin as she realised she had done it then looked over at her mother and asked if she had seen.

"I did indeed," said Blake.

"And guess who's turn it is now?" Yang asked, her eyes sparking as she looked over at Blake.

"Moms turn!" Kit cheered, bobbing over to Blake. She got behind Blake and attempted to push her towards Yang.

"Alright Kit Kat, while I help out your mum, I want you to hold on to the edge of the pool and keep practicing the kicking motion," said Yang. Kit nodded her head and, once she stopped trying to push Blake, she did as she was instructed. Blake hadn't moved a muscle and Yang held out her hand for her.

Blake's eyes flickered back and forth from Yang's hand to her eyes, feeling panic creep over her skin as she willed herself to put her trust in Yang. _'She knows what she's doing, she won't let me go under,'_ repeated Blake, in her mind, banishing the irrational fears with a logical thought process.

"Let's get you practicing floating with the kickboard first like we did last week with the noodle. Remember, there's no pressure and we go at your pace," reassured Yang. That sealed the deal for Blake as she hurdled over a mental barrier of negativity and placed her hand in Yang's.

Grabbing hold of the discarded kickboard with her free hand, Blake felt herself being led further into the deeper water until it came up to their breasts while they were standing. They turned to face towards Kit so they could both keep an eye on her.

"Do you feel happy here?" Yang asked, wanting to be sure.

Blake gave a nod. "So long as I can touch the floor still."

"You're doing great. Hold the float to your chest and cross your arms over it, that's it, now I'm going to get behind you and you can lift your feet off the ground whenever you feel ready."

Once Yang got into position behind her Blake took a deep breath then lifted her feet off the floor. Her body tilted back but Yang's arm blocked her from going too far back where water could splash up into her human ears. Blake let her legs gently float around below, doing a couple of relaxed kicks now and then, as she let her breathing become more controlled. It was actually kind of nice to simply float around like a buoy bobbing along in a vast ocean.

"Do you want me to let go?" Yang offered, her hand and forearm firm against Blake's spine.

"Umm, maybe if you do it slowly?" Blake suggested, and Yang complied.

When Yang's hand left her back completely Blake felt her body protest slightly as she arched back up, but her legs evenly balanced her body, along with the float, and she slowly relaxed back down. The water lapped at her ears slightly causing her breathing to quicken but Yang came into her point of view wearing a massive smile while indicating for her to take deep breaths. Nodding shakily Blake took several deep breaths, and Yang watched her carefully for a couple of minutes before swimming back behind Blake to help her get back into standing position.

"How was that?"

Blake smiled. "It wasn't too bad. I was a little nervous when first lying back and you letting go but it was good."

"Excellent. Now how do you feel about doing that on your front?"

Blake was less hesitant about answering this time. "Yeah, let's give it a go."

Holding out the kickboard in front of her Blake kept her feet on the ground as she worked up the courage to lie forward in the water. She almost jumped clear out the water when Yang placed her hand on her stomach.

Yang let out a small chuckle. "It's okay, I'll be keeping your body up to a more natural position when swimming."

Blake's fingernails dug into the foam of the float. She rarely let anyone else touch her there, only her doctor or Kit, but knowing that Yang wasn't there to hurt her she reigned in her initial flight response and allowed Yang to keep her hand there. She leaned some of her weight onto Yang's hand, her one arm strong enough to hold up Blake's body, and started doing the frog kick motion Kit had been doing earlier. Together they made their way back down to the shallow end with Yang keeping a secure hold of Blake along the way and never taking her eyes off her.

"Leave her alone!"

Several things happened at once in a short space of time.

Yang and Blake's eyes shot to Kit. Blake let go of the kickboard in surprise and Yang struggled to hold up all of Blake's weight causing her to go off balance. When Blake felt herself tipping forward she leaned back as quick as possible and wrapped an arm around Yang's neck to keep herself from going under, then wrapped her other arm around her too to keep her secure. The pair of them looked at each other, searching each other's eyes, then snapped their heads back towards Kit.

Her hands were balled into fists, red tipped ears pressed flat against her scalp, as she growled with her teeth barred towards the three men on the other side of the divider. Blake and Yang glanced towards the men and saw them with one arm behind their backs, splashing about uselessly while laughing uproariously. Yang's arm slowly slack around her and Blake looked back at Yang to see her expression crumble. Blake's heart went out to Yang but her daughter was upset too so she dropped her arms from around Yang and made her way to Kit. Yang soon followed her.

"Kit, ignore them," said Blake. She picked up her daughter and sat her on the side of the pool bringing her hands up to turn Kit's head away from the men. Kit wriggled out of her mother's grasp and furiously shook her head.

"But they're saying mean things about Miss Xiao Long!"

"What are they saying, Kit?" Yang approached them, appearing oddly calm for someone who had witnessed people making fun of her.

"They called you stumpy and a one arm bimbo," argued Kit, frowning.

"Don't repeat that word, sweetheart," Blake added, quickly. Kit nodded her head briefly, yet her attention was more focused on the men who were still laughing with each other.

Yang gently touched Blake's elbow. "I know this is pretty rude to interrupt our lesson to do this, but do you mind if I take care of these guys?"

Blake bit her lip. "You're not going to fight them are you?"

Yang calmly shook her head. "Nah. You'll see."

Blake stood in front of Kit and the two of them watched as Yang headed over to the men.

"Do you guys mind? I'm trying to teach here," started Yang. The men's laughter died down and they removed their arms from behind their backs. One of the men, muscular and dark haired with light blue eyes, smirked at Yang.

"What are you teaching them?" He asked, smugly. "How to swim in circles?"

Yang gestured to her stump."Do you have a problem with my arm?"

"It's ugly looking but not really," he replied, with a half-hearted shrug.

Lilac eyes narrowed in their direction."So you guys just like to make fun of people with disabilities?"

None of them answered and Yang's pissed disposition changed suddenly as she smiled brightly. "Hey, do you guys want to race?"

One of the other men with a crooked nose, that had obviously been broken at some point in his life, wonky yellow teeth from years of smoking, and balding brown hair let out a scoff. "Sure, I don't mind beating a cripple." His two friends quickly agreed with him.

"How about we make it interesting?" Yang suggested, earning the men's attention. "If I win, you and your friends will never come back to Vale Leisure Centre again."

The final guy, shoved forward between his other two friends, his frizzy black hair sticking up all over the place and shouted eagerly. "And if one of us wins you'll give us a hundred lien each!"

"Deal!" Yang agreed, she turned her back on them but glanced at them over her shoulder. "I would shake my hand on it, but you know," she said, scathingly.

Yang headed back to Blake and Kit who had watched the whole exchange with inquisitiveness but before Blake could ask any questions she desirably wanted to ask, the lifeguard, Sun, stopped at their side.

"Is everything alright over here? I heard the little one yell," mentioned Sun, looking between Blake and Kit, Yang, and the three men.

"Yeah, everything is fine," said Yang. "These guys just challenged me to a race, that's all."

Sun let out a low whistle then shook his head pitifully at the men. "You guys are screwed," he chuckled.

"Whatever pool boy," said wonky teeth, dismissively.

Sun crouched down next to Blake, who was now sat next to Kit on the side, as they watched Yang and the three men line themselves up.

"Want me to call it?" Sun asked, grabbing his whistle. There was a unanimous agreement and silence fell upon them all. "On your marks... Get set... GO!"

The four of them pushed off from the wall simultaneously.

"Go Yang!" Kit cheered, clapping her hands.

Blake watched with rapt fascination as Yang quickly took the lead with powerful leg kicks and her arm going around in a circle over her head as she turned her head to the side to catch her breath. When she reached the deep end of the pool she performed a graceful flip turn under the water and continued the same swim technique on the way back. Each time Yang's head surfaced slightly Blake could see an incredible amount of focus and determination etched on her face.

Yang's hand touched the finish line by the time the men had started to turn around at the other end of the pool. Kit let out a cheer and kicked her legs splashing water about as Yang stood up in front of the three of them, taking deep breaths but wearing a huge smile. Blake met her gaze and she grinned at her causing Yang to return it if a little timidly.

The three men finally reached the shallow end, all scowling at Yang and grumbling among themselves. Yang's smile faded as she looked over at them.

"Now get out of my pool," she snarled, her eyes flashing dangerously.

Sun let out a whoop as the men pushed themselves up out the pool. "Don't go up against a national champion next time!" He shouted, grinning broadly.

Blake's ears perked up at the title, but Yang didn't look too impressed.

"Sun," she warned, pointedly.

The monkey faunus' tail swished from side to side. "Ah, yeah, sorry Yang."

Figuring Yang didn't want to talk about that Blake asked the second question which was on her mind.

"Your pool?" She questioned, arching an eyebrow.

"Hey, I've been swimming in this pool since I was two, I have a right to call it mine," said Yang, defensively, crossing her arm but wore an adorable pout. Blake let out a laugh forcing Yang to break her serious character and laugh along with her.

{-}

An hour later Blake and Kit were back home; Kit was in the lounge continuing her drawing from earlier while watching cartoons as Blake sorted out the weeks washing in the utility room. She put the washing machine on and her ears twitched as she heard the letterbox creek as the post was shoved through it.

"Postman's here mom!" Kit yelled, over the TV.

Blake rolled her eyes and headed into the hallway to pick up the post. There were a couple of bills, a letter from the bank and one from Vale Police.

Her heart leapt up to her throat where it got stuck, making it difficult to breathe as her chest constricted at the mere thought of what information could lay inside this envelope. With shaking hands, Blake slipped a finger under the slip and ripped it open. Quickly taking out the letter Blake unfolded it and her eyes frantically scanned the contents.

 _Dear Miss B Belladonna,_

 _On behalf of Vale Police Parole Board. I, Andrew Carter, am writing to inform you that the prisoner, Adam Taurus, who you testified against in court has had a meeting with said parole board, where they have agreed to allow Mr Taurus to be released from prison._

 _We are aware of your current restraining order on Mr Taurus, applying to you and your daughter, Kit Belladonna, meaning that we have taken precaution of your current whereabouts and placed Mr Taurus in a location fitting of the restraint. For your safety Mr Taurus is located at Flat 24, Berksley Lane, Downtown East, Vale. Do not attempt to go near him._

 _Mr Taurus will be monitored constantly, via a tracking device and a supervising officer, until the remaining time on his sentence is fulfilled. If Mr Taurus goes within two hundred yards of your location Miss Belladonna, then we will be alerted immediately and police will be dispatched to arrest him. We would like to remind you that Mr Taurus has no knowledge of your current location since you have changed address while Mr Taurus was incarcerated._

 _If you have any concerns or questions to ask the parole board, please contact us using the information provided below. You can also ring Vale Police and ask to speak to the corrections officer, Scott Howard._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Andrew Carter, Head of Parole Board._

Numerous curse words travelled through Blake's mind. Tears prickled at the corner of her eyes readying to spill down her cheeks as she struggled to take a breath, all the while anxiety churned at her stomach threatening to make her lunch reappear. She could have sworn she felt the scar on her stomach tingle.

 _'Focus Blake,'_ she urged, herself. She took some unsteady breaths and clasped her hands together in front of her trying to stop them from shaking.

All her mind could process that she and her daughter were in danger. _'I could move us, I could take Kit far, far away and start a new life where he would never find us.'_

Blake was halfway up the stairs to start packing their bags when Kit came running into the hallway with her finished picture in her hands.

"Mom, look what I drew," she cried out, holding it up in front of her.

A tear trailed down her cheek as she took the picture off Kit and gave it a closer look. It was the two of them swimming along with Yang all wearing big happy smiles.

Realisation struck Blake like a lightning bolt as she remembered that she had already started a new life. The moment Adam had been locked away she had searched for a new place to live to raise her daughter. There was no way Adam could find them, she knew it wouldn't stop him from trying though, but even if he did he wouldn't get near them.

She also couldn't uproot their lives like that. Their whole world was here, her job was here, Kit's school and few friends were here, and Blake wanted to be here for Yang. She didn't have a lot of friends herself, only Velvet and her wife Coco, but she was positive she wanted to be friends with the blonde. Her heart wanted to be more yet Blake struggled to allow herself to; not when the trauma from her past liked to creep up on her. Adam had always told her that no one else would want to be with her as a ploy to keep her to himself. It had taken four years of counselling to remove that horrid belief from her mind but occasionally she couldn't help taking it to heart despite being told otherwise. After all, she figured, why would anyone want to be with her who had such emotional baggage?

"Do you not like it, mum?" Kit asked, quietly.

Blake noticed she was crying fully and she wiped away the tears. "I love it, sweetheart. These are just happy tears."

Kit stepped up a couple of more stairs to wrap her arms around Blake and she returned the hug with a massive squeeze of her own.

* * *

 **Author's Note: They've dealt with assholes but now the biggest asshole of all is out of jail! Dun dun dun! ;)**

 **Don't forget to leave a review and let me know what you think! 3**

 **Reeves3.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Diclaimer: I don't own anything to do with RWBY.**

 **Author's Note: And we're back with a new chapter! A little bit shorter, I think, than the others but otherwise still filled with good fluffy content and a bit of angst.**

 **This chapter has a rape/abuse mention which I would like to warn you guys now - it doesn't go into detail but just a heads up for the fourth sentence before the end of the chapter.**

 **Thank you for all the reviews, likes and favourites for the previous chapter. They're always a delight to read. :D**

 **Thank you to my good friend Callum as well for looking through this chapter for me.**

 **I hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

 **Reeves3.**

* * *

 **Chapter Five**

A phone was always ringing at The Daily Vale. It was either a member of the public ringing in with a promising story or fellow staff members trying to contact one another. Either way there was never a moment of silence, even if the phones stopped ringing the clacking of fingers hitting keyboards and papers being shuffled was ever present in the room.

Out of the several desks in the large office space Blake's was one of the two to be placed against the window. She sat at the computer chair, lightly spinning it from side to side, as she gazed out at the view of busy morning traffic, pushy people walking along the high street, and a bright blue sky. She had a paper to write but she couldn't find the focus to concentrate on it. Her mind was far too busy thinking about how Kit was getting on at her swimming lesson. Blake had been informed on Monday that volunteering went through a cycle, so different parents could help out and Blake had been asked to come again the following Wednesday.

She had been a little put off by it. For one, she wasn't able to keep an eye on Kit in case something bad happened in the pool, but she knew Kit wasn't as scared as the water as she was so that reassured her a little. Also, Blake was positive Yang wouldn't let anything bad happen to any of her students under her watch. That brought her to the second part she was miffed about; she wasn't going to be able to see Yang.

A small sigh slipped by Blake's lips and she lifted her mug up to finish off the last few sips of her tea.

Her heart yearned to see the blonde again, but her head threw every bit of logical reasoning at it as to why it was a bad idea to become infatuated. Her mind always triumphed and she settled on just trying to become friends with Yang as shame nibbled away at her for wanting more.

Her mind also stressed about Adam, wondering if she had made the right choice to stay rather than move house just to be sure he could never track them down. Guilt gnawed at her for that too because if something ever happened to Kit, if he ever did to Kit what he had done to her, then Blake would never forgive herself.

A ringing on Blake's desk broke her out of her thoughts and she placed her empty mug on its coaster, then answered the phone. The caller I.D on the small screen showed her it was coming from the receptionist office.

"Hello Maggie," she answered, already knowing who was at the front desk today.

"Hi Blake, I have a Mrs Alistair from Vale Primary on line one for you."

Immediately Blake's mind conjured up all kinds of reasons why she would be getting a call from Kit's school; the top one being an accident had happened. "Okay, thanks Maggie, pass it through."

Maggie passed the call through and Blake quickly pressed the number one key as soon as the button above it started flashing red. "Hello, Blake Belladonna speaking."

The schools receptionist, Mrs Alistair, voice spoke through the speaker. "Hi Miss Belladonna. Apologises for having to contact you at work but is it possible for you to come to the school? I'm afraid Kit got into a fight with another student and Headmistress Goodwitch would like an audience with the parents of the children involved."

Blake's eyes had widened like saucers. _'I can't believe it. Kit got into a fight?'_

"Uh, yes certainly. I'll be there as quick as I can."

They said their farewells before Blake hung up the phone, saved all her work on her computer and then shut it down. She picked up her bag from underneath her desk and stood up from her chair, walking over to her boss' office. Blake lightly knocked on the door then popped her head in to see her boss, Rowan Liddell, sat at his desk typing away at his computer.

"Morning Blake, what can I do for you?" He asked, cheerfully.

"Hi Rowan, I hate to do this, but I need to pop out and meet with my daughter's head teacher. Apparently Kit got into a fight," explained Blake.

"Oh no, little troublemaker, but yes that's fine, will you be back later?" He questioned, understanding as ever.

Blake nodded. "Hopefully, but if anything comes up I'll be sure to ring and let you know."

"Excellent. I'll catch you later then," he said, smiling happily.

Blake bid her goodbyes and rushed out the office towards the elevators. A short ride down a couple of floors and Blake walked out into the foyer , giving a quick wave to Maggie, and headed out the main doors. She got into her car and began the quick drive to Vale Primary School wondering what on Remnant Kit had done.

A short while later Blake parked in the empty car park and practically jogged up to the front doors of the school. Mrs Alistair was seated at her usual spot behind the small window and she gave a friendly smile to Blake as she entered.

"Everyone is waiting in Headmistress's Goodwitch office. It's right over there," she informed, pointing slightly behind Blake and to her left. Blake looked around and saw a wooden door between the main hall and one of the hallways. Approaching it, Blake knocked on the door reading the plaque that read 'Headmistress Goodwitch: Head Teacher'.

A firm voice answered from the other side.

"Enter."

Blake pushed the handle down and nudged the door open. Headmistress Goodwitch sat behind her mahogany desk, glass spectacles half way down her nose, as she glared sternly over them. Seated in front of her was Kit and the other student Blake recognised as Charlotte while behind Charlotte was her mother, dressed in a two-piece business suit, her hair and make-up done immaculately, and jewellery decorating her. In the middle stood Yang with her hands tucked into the front pocket of her hoodie.

They had all turned to look at her enter and Blake's eyes widened seeing the three scratch marks on Kit's cheek. Charlotte didn't look any better, looking frazzled, and had crusty dry blood around one nostril, in her hand she clutched a bloody tissue.

"Miss Belladonna, thank you for joining us," said Goodwitch.

"About time," mentioned Charlotte's mother, impatiently. Blake squinted her eyes at her, recalling from a faint memory a year prior at the school's fundraiser that this woman's name was Carolyn.

"We called Miss Belladonna from work. You were already here from volunteering today," reminded Yang, pointedly. Carolyn turned her nose up at Yang as Blake stepped into the room, closing the door behind her, and came to stand behind Kit. She gently placed a hand under Kit's chin, lifting her head up and tilting it to the side, so she could get a close up of the scratches.

"What happened?" Blake asked, hiding her inner fury at the child who hurt her daughter, while her eyes glanced across at Headmistress Goodwitch. The light blonde elder woman opened her mouth to speak but was rudely cut off by Carolyn.

"Your daughter savagely attacked mine!" She proclaimed, pointing a bony finger at Kit.

"No I didn't! She started it!" Kit shouted, clenching her fists.

"You pulled my hair!" Charlotte argued.

"You pulled my ears!" Kit fought back.

"Why would I touch your ugly ears?" Charlotte snapped, her tone full of snide.

"Enough!" Headmistress Goodwitch ordered, slapping a ruler on the desk with a snap making the five of them jump simultaneously. "Never have I seen such insubordination inside my office. I want you two to remain quiet until you are called upon. Understand?" Kit and Charlotte nodded their heads and Headmistress Goodwitch looked upon her fellow staff member. "Miss Xiao Long, could you please tell me your side of the story?"

Yang appeared a little surprise to be called upon first, but she quickly began recounting her side of things. "Well we arrived at the pool and while the students were getting changed, I went to go do the safety check. I heard shouting coming from the girls changing room, so I rushed back to find Kit and Charlotte fighting and Mrs Richmond trying to stop them. I went over and pulled them apart and asked what happened. Charlotte told me that Kit pulled on her hair for no reason which Mrs Richmond backed up but Kit denied this saying her ears were pulled on first."

Headmistress Goodwitch sat back a little in her chair as she contemplated what Yang had explained to her.

"I see," she said. She turned her gaze towards Kit who reluctantly met her cold hard stare. "No one attacks someone for no reason. There's always a motive even if it's the most absurd; so tell me Kit, what is your reason for hitting Charlotte?"

"She was saying mean things about Sam again," admitted Kit, honestly. Goodwitch nodded her head and turned towards Charlotte.

"And you, Charlotte, what is your reason for fighting with Kit?"

"Because she pulled my hair," said Charlotte.

"Because you said mean things about Sam! He's my friend and he didn't want to go swimming today because of you!" Kit cried out, her voice wavering. Blake ran a hand through Kit's hair in an attempt to soothe her.

"Ah see!" Carolyn said, triumphantly, pointing her finger at Kit again. "She admits she attacked my daughter first."

"After being provoked by your daughter," mentioned Blake, coolly.

Yang spoke up. "This isn't the first incident where Charlotte has said something mean towards Sam and Kit has stood up for him."

Carolyn huffed as Headmistress Goodwitch processed this new information. Silence filled the room as they waited on the head teacher to give her verdict.

"Even if it was in defence of another student," she started, sliding her half-moon spectacles up her nose, "I won't allow fighting amongst my students. The pair of you will be taken home so you can reflect deeply on your appalling behaviour and when you come back tomorrow I want you both to apologise to one another."

No one argued with her and after bidding Headmistress Goodwitch a good day Carolyn led Charlotte out the office. Kit waited half a minute then hopped off the chair with her school bag in hand, keeping her head bowed down and her ears flat, as she rushed over to the door and opened it leaving the room on her own. Blake quickly said her goodbyes to the head teacher and chased after Kit with Yang following her. She found Kit standing outside the front doors with her back turned to them and as Blake pushed open the door her ears picked up the sound of sniffling.

"Kit?" She asked, worriedly. Kit let out a small choked sob and slowly turned around on the spot where Blake saw tears running rivers down her cheeks and snot trailing from her nose as she cried her heart out. She briefly looked up at Blake then shamefully stared down at the ground as she quietly hiccupped out a question that made Blake freeze up.

"A-Am I l-like dad?" Kit wiped away at her endless tears and cried out. "You t-told me he was an angry m-man who hurt people. I-I feel myself g-getting angry and I d-don't want to h-hurt people, but I d-d-did."

Blake faintly shook her head, hearing Yang awkwardly pause behind them and staying by the doors, as she crouched down wrapping Kit up in a giant hug and picking her up. Blake cursed at herself for having told Kit that information about her father a couple of years ago. What was she supposed to do though when her five-year-old wanted to know what her father was like? She should have known better that Kit would have taken it to mean that the slightest anger from her would make her believe she was a bad person.

The doors behind them opened and Blake realised Yang had left and returned to retrieve several tissues for Kit. She heard Kit blow her nose into one of them and then felt her bury her face into her mother's tresses, embarrassed to have her teacher see her crying.

For a while Blake swayed on the spot letting Kit cry into her shoulder giving her the time she needed to calm down while running a hand up and down Kit's back. When she felt Kit's tears were trailing off slightly she pulled back from Kit to get a good look at her daughter. Her eyes were red around her irises as was the tip of her nose and cheeks, which were still damp, and her lower lip jutted out with a wobble threatening another wave of tears.

"Let's get you home and we'll talk about it there, okay?" Blake offered, not really keen on having this conversation with Yang overhearing. Kit nodded her head and went back to resting her head on her mother's shoulder. Blake turned around to face Yang who was watching them with a sad smile but had a warm fondness in her eyes.

"I'll see you next Saturday," she said, and Blake nodded. Yang pulled a hand out from her hoodie pocket and in it was a kit-kat bar.

"Hey Kit Kat," she mentioned, causing Kit to briefly lift her head up. Yang held out the chocolate bar for Kit to take with her free hand that wasn't holding tissue. "Keep your chin up little one."

Kit gave a little smile and mumbled a small thank you. Yang smiled at her and Blake who returned the gesture. Blake mouthed her own thank you to Yang, briefly waving to say goodbye, then began carrying Kit to the car with Yang watching them go until they were out of sight. Blake gently lowered Kit to her feet at the passenger side of the car as she fished out her keys from her purse and unlocked the doors.

Kit continued to cry quietly during the journey home and Blake comforted her as best as she could while keeping both eyes on the road. When Blake parked on their driveway the pair of them got out, Kit rushing to Blake's side again to hold her hand, and they entered through the front door of their house.

They dropped their bags in the hallway and Kit followed Blake down into the kitchen where she handed Kit a box of soft tissues who pulled one out and threw her old ones in the bin.

"Does your cheek hurt?" Blake asked, opening up the freezer part of the fridge to get an icepack. The pink blemish on her cheek was already starting to fade but the three dark red scratches still looked sore.

Kit shook her head and sniffed. "No, Miss Xiao Long got me some ice at the pool."

Blake smiled. "Alright. Do you want a drink?"

"Can I have some squash?"

Blake nodded and closed the freezer door and reached up in the cupboards for a plastic cup and a glass. "Why don't you go sit in the lounge and I'll join you in a minute?"

Kit slowly nodded and walked into the lounge leaving Blake to make them drinks and think about what she would say to her daughter. She ran the cold tap, mulling it over in her mind which parts would be appropriate or not, as she poured blackcurrant juice into the plastic cup then held it under the running water, then did the same for her own drink minus the juice.

When Blake walked into the lounge she saw Kit curled up at one end of the settee with her head resting on the armrest and using the throw as a blanket. Blake placed the drinks on the coffee table then plopped herself down in the middle of the couch by Kit's feet. In an instant Kit sat up, took a quick sip of her drink, then turned to lay the other way with her head resting on Blake's lap. Blake smiled fondly and began to gently run her fingers through Kit's hair as she continued to dab at her tearing eyes and runny nose.

"Come on, don't cry," comforted Blake. "It's okay to get angry sometimes, everyone gets angry over something they care about."

"B-But t-they don't h-hurt people," sobbed Kit.

"Not always but it happens. Getting involved in a fight for standing up for someone else doesn't make you a bad person."

Kit's eyebrows furrowed together. "But y-you said dad-"

Blake let out a long sigh. "Your father...he was a very bad man. He would get angry and start fights with innocent people for no reason thinking it was the right thing to do. He never fought anyone to defend a friend from someone else like you did, Kit."

Amber eyes met each other. "You know that fighting with Charlotte was wrong, don't you?"

Kit nodded her head and Blake wiped away a stray tear. "Then you're nothing like your father. Sometimes anger can build up, and I know you get angry Kit, I do too, whether it's people teasing us about our cat ears or people making fun of those we care about, but we don't let it resort to fighting. Think about what Yang did the other day. She was angry at those men for making fun of her for having one arm, but she chose not to fight them."

"Yeah," sniffled Kit, "but she raced them."

"She did and it's a much more better approach than to start a fight. How about we brainstorm some ideas that you could do so whenever you feel angry you can go and do them instead?"

"Can we stay like this for a bit more?" Kit asked, snuggling closer to her. Blake smiled and scooped Kit up in her arms and cuddled her closer.

"Of course we can."

For a while the two of them sat their cuddling each other until Kit's crying ceased entirely and the balled up tissues were going unused in her lap. Her breathing was steady, her chest rhythmically rising and falling, and Blake wondered if Kit had fallen asleep when her quiet voice piped up against Blake's collarbone.

"He hurt you. Didn't he mommy?"

His furious red eyes, his raised voice, his slaps, his punches, his forceful sexual advances, her terror, her screams, her bruises, her broken bones, and her tears long throughout the night flashed inside her mind like a nightmare movie on fast forward.

"Very much so," replied Blake, swallowing with difficulty.

"I would never hurt you mommy," replied Kit, holding her mother tighter. Blake squeezed her even closer.

"I know you wouldn't sweetheart," said Blake, pressing a kiss between Kit's ears. "You're nothing like him."

* * *

 **Author's Note: Not much plot wise for this chapter, more of an information filler, but I hope you guys don't mind that.**

 **Don't forget to leave a review and let me know what you thought!**

 **Lots of Yang and Blake in the next chapter, don't you worry, our bees will be buzzing!**

 **Reeves3.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with RWBY.**

 **Author's Note: And we've reached the halfway point! Thank you so much everyone for the reviews, favourites and alerts on the previous chapter. You've been making this author so happy reading all the sweet things you've said! Also, was it just me or did this week feel really loooong?**

 **There's a bit of abuse talk in this chapter so heads up for that.**

 **Thank you to my good friend Callum for proof reading this chapter for me. :D**

 **I hope you all enjoy this chapter! Lots of bees!**

 **Reeves3.**

* * *

 **Chapter Six**

"So, how did that feel?"

Blake let out the breath she had been holding in her tense stomach for the last minute. Yang had guided her to the deep end as she frog kicked using the noodle to stay afloat. It was nerve-wracking beyond belief but she had made it and was proud of herself.

"It wasn't too bad," she admitted, still she clung to the edge of the pool for dear life.

"Well I think you did swimmingly," said Yang, grinning. Blake rolled her eyes, but she smiled nevertheless.

"Are your puns always terrible?"

"Hey, my puns are great!" Yang argued, playfully.

Blake hummed, a smirk appearing on her lips. "Well I think you need to dive deeper."

The moment she said it Yang let out a laugh and proceeded to do as instructed because one minute she was there and the next she had dipped under the water. Blake watched her through the waving water, against the light blue tiles, as Yang pretended to search around at the bottom of the pool for something. She emerged a short while later, popping back up next to Blake, and wiped the dripping water from her face.

"Sebastian was right; it is better down where it's wetter!"

She winked at Blake who then blushed so deeply she had to hide her face in her hands while trying to shake off her grin.

"That was so bad," she groaned, into her palms while Yang laughed.

Eventually Yang's chuckles died down a little for her to get out her next sentence. "Alright, enough teasing. Do you want to try going back or get out here?"

"Let's try going back," Blake said, after taking her hands away from her face. Despite the constant butterflies in her stomach about being in the deep end, she wasn't going to cower out so easily and wanted to face her fears. Yang beamed at her answer and got in position in front of her, being a guide and to also take Blake's mind off everything else around them, before Blake gently kicked off from the back wall.

Yang spoke words of encouragement throughout the entire length she did and let out a cheer with Kit, who was sitting at the edge of the pool deflating her armbands, as Blake made it back to the shallows.

"You two have done amazing today. I'm really proud of how far you've come already," praised Yang, giving them both a grin.

"Well, we have a wonderful teacher," smiled Blake, in return. Yang rubbed the back of her neck and adverted her gaze, but her smile stretched from cheek to cheek.

"Miss Xiao Long's the best teacher, mum," informed Kit.

"Don't let Mrs Peach hear you say that," replied Yang, making Kit giggle. The blonde turned towards the clock and noted the time before facing Blake. "Looks like that's all we've got time for today. Is the same time next week okay for you both?"

"Yes, that's fine," said Blake, having already checked her diary that morning to make sure she was free next Saturday.

"Great! I'll see you next week then."

"We will," agreed Blake. "Kit, say goodbye to Yang."

"Goodbye to Yang," repeated Kit, sticking her tongue out, making Yang snort.

Blake shook her head hopelessly. "Alright you little munchkin, let's go get dry."

Kit giggled and stood up waiting for her mother to use the metal stairs to lift herself out. Blake noticed Yang standing behind her as she pulled herself up then watched as Yang got out the pool too, taking the pool noodle with her, as she stood at the side.

"Are you getting out too?" Blake asked, surprised. Usually Yang remained in the water waiting for her next learner to appear.

"Yeah," answered Yang. "My last session cancelled this morning because they weren't feeling well so I'm all finished here for today now. I just need to put away the floats."

"Oooh! Do you want to come to the park with us?" Kit asked, excitedly, bouncing on the balls of her feet by Blake's side.

Lilac and amber eyes widened as they stared at Kit before looking at each other.

"Uhh, I don't want to intrude..."

"You don't have to if you're busy..."

"I'm free. Are you sure you don't mind?"

Blake shook her head and gave a shy smile. "No, not at all."

Yang stared at her with a soft fondness in her eyes. "Then I'd love to join you."

"YAY!" Kit cheered, making them both jump. "Let's go!"

She began tugging at Blake's arm who had no option other than to be led by her daughter and she looked back at Yang who was grinning as she watched them while picking up the discarded armbands.

"I'll be there in a bit," she promised.

Inside the changing room Blake and Kit quickly stepped under the showers where chilled water splashed upon them, taking a while to warm up, as they rinsed the chlorine off themselves. After a quick wash they headed over to the lockers where Blake removed the locker key from her wrist and opened it up to remove their items. Kit took her bag and carried it off to one of the cubicles and Blake took the one next to her.

Blake finished getting dressed first, she honestly didn't know why it took Kit so long, and emerged from the cubicle rubbing her hair dry with her towel. She spotted Yang over by the lockers and watched her towelling herself off in front of them, making sure her stump was dry, then pulled out a mechanical prosthetic arm, partially painted yellow and slotted it in place over her stump. Yang and Blake, the latter extremely fascinated, both watched as the fingers slowly began to move then the wrist turned and when it appeared Yang was happy she grabbed the rest of her stuff with both hands.

Yang turned towards Blake and noticed her staring, she tried to cover her arm up with her towel but after a couple of failed nonchalant attempts she gave up and smiled tight lipped.

"I'll just go get changed," she muttered, embarrassed. She sidestepped past Blake and quickly entered the cubical she had just left, leaving Blake staring at the closed door with an arched eyebrow.

Kit popped out next lightly kicking her swim bag with each step she took then attempted to dry her hair with the hand dryers as Blake waited by the entrance to the changing room for Yang. When she eventually appeared out the cubical she was wearing knee high boots, topped off with orange socks, dark shorts that showed off her powerful thighs, and was in the process of slipping her hoodie over her head, but Blake caught a glimpse of her defined abdominal muscles before she pulled the jumper down fully. The hand on her robotic arm was once again covered with a black glove.

"We ready to go?" Yang asked, a little unsure of herself.

"I uhh," stuttered Blake, the image of Yang's abs in the forefront of her mind. She mentally shook her head, clearing her thoughts, and nodded. "Yes, let's go."

The two of them glanced over at Kit who was across the room from them.

"Are you coming Kit or are you going to set fire to your hair?" Blake asked, watching Kit putting the end of her plait up the dryer. Kit let out little squeak and rushed up to her mother and grabbed her hand then she glanced up at Yang, seemingly thinking about something, then ultimately decided to grab Yang's hand too.

Kit pulled the two of them along out the changing rooms and towards the main entrance where they said their goodbyes to Neptune at the desk where he sat munching on an apple.

"Hey Yang, don't you want your money from today's lessons?" He asked, holding up several lien.

"I'll come back for it," called Yang, over her shoulder, before being dragged out the front door with Blake.

It was a bright day out and was gradually getting warmer as the sun fought hard to melt the frost that had shown up that morning. A cool breeze made its presence known to the three of them which caused two sets of wet faunus ears to flick erratically. Halloween was only two days away and carved pumpkins sat outside the front of houses, some were covered with decorations of bats, witches, skeletons and other spooky items. They walked down the road for five minutes, commenting on how scary the faces in the pumpkins were, then crossed the street at the end and arrived at the playground which took up one corner of the large park.

Several owners were walking their dogs around the edge of the park following the footpath as a football match between two high schools was playing in the centre of the field. Families and friends watched from the sidelines but a few of the children who had got bored of watching their siblings kicking a ball around had gone to play in the park.

This was where Kit let go of their hands and ran on ahead to go join them playing pirates on the jungle gym. Blake and Yang walked around the park's waist high wooden fence until they came across an empty bench to sit down upon. They put their bags, and Yang's bright yellow motorbike helmet, by their feet where Blake noticed inside one of Yang's plastic bags was a rolled up pair of leather pants and a jacket.

Yang leaned back casually against the bench while Blake sat up straighter on it peacefully surveying the surroundings before meeting Yang's eyes and smiling at her.

"This is nice," she said, and Blake had to agree.

"It's lovely to come here. I started up jogging after having Kit and used to come here to do a couple of laps. I only really jog when the weather is warmer now and Kit rides her bike with me," said Blake, smiling fondly.

The corners of Yang's lips twitched up. "Ah, you like jogging then? I've been curious, what do you like to get up to, Blake?"

"You've been curious, huh?" She saw Yang's cheeks go pink as she realised she had given herself away to thinking about Blake. With her heart aflutter Blake decided to spare Yang more embarrassment by continuing to speak. "Well, besides from work and looking after Kit, I enjoy reading and writing. I'm currently writing a book which is nearly finished. There's quite a few hobbies I like that would take too long to list."

"You've written a book? That's awesome!"

Blake blushed at the praise. "Well, it's not published or anything yet but hopefully one day."

Yang sat up bending close. "Yeah but still, you've written something and will get it out there at some point."

"True," agreed Blake, then asked interested. "What about you? What do you like to get up to besides from teaching and swim classes?"

"I'm usually hitting the gym, I'm always swimming, and I box for fun. I like going to the movies and gaming in my spare time when I'm not stressing over lesson plans," said Yang, stretching her arms out in front of her making her shoulders pop.

Blake recalled a question she had been wanting to ask since it had been mentioned the previous week.

"You were a swimming champion?" She asked, attentively, aware that it was a touchy subject.

Yang's shoulders slumped, and Blake's ears twitched as she heard her quietly mutter 'god dammit Sun.' Before Blake could quickly apologise for bringing it up Yang answered her question.

"I was, a long time ago," she sighed. "But not anymore."

"What happened?"

Yang simply lifted her prosthetic up and Blake's mouth formed an 'o' shape. Another thought occurred to her causing her to frown slightly.

"Well I don't think that's holding you back. When you raced those men the other day that was the quickest swimming I've ever seen," said Blake, honestly. "It was really incredible."

The faintest of smiles appeared on Yang's lips, if only for the briefest of seconds as she turned to look at Blake with shining eyes.

"Thanks Blake, I appreciate that," she said, and while Blake knew she meant it, she was pretty sure Yang was trying to quickly get off the topic. Her prediction came true when Yang took a moment to lean her forearms on her knees as she gazed out at the children playing before asking. "How's Kit doing? She seemed pretty upset the other day."

Blake followed Yang's gaze where Kit was swinging on the monkey bars to escape the burning ship and avoid dropping into the shark infested water below.

"We had a little talk and cuddle on the couch when I got her home, then after some lunch I took her to work with me. She's...I won't say she's fine because I know the issue with her dad still bothers her but she's accepting it."

Yang slowly nodded her head then shuffled slightly where she sat. "Do you mind if I ask about her dad?"

Blake stomach plummeted as she looked over at Yang. "What do you want to know?"

"Is he still on the scene?" Yang asked, inquisitive, the tips of her ears turning red. Blake felt her own cheeks flare up once more realising what Yang was hinting at.

"No, he's not," answered Blake, thankful. A reminding worry in the back of her mind dwindling on the fact he was now released from prison. She ignored it as best as she could and listened to Yang's next question.

"What was he like?"

Blake wasn't sure why she was willing herself talk about Adam to Yang, but she felt she could trust her. If her swimming lessons had taught her anything, apart from actual swimming, it was that the blonde was a patient and reliable person. She never pressured Blake into doing something she didn't want to and took the time to make it a happy experience for her. She always felt safe in her presence and she was sure a bond was forming between the two of them. Blake just hoped that Yang could feel the same thing she did.

"He was... He was a monster in disguise," she finally confessed. Yang looked vastly confused by that answer however, so Blake elaborated. "He used to abuse me, emotionally, mentally and physically."

Yang softly rested her hand on Blake's arm as a show of comfort and Blake glanced at the contact before putting her own hand on top of Yang's and continuing. "You're probably wondering why I ever got involved with a man who mistreated me so much, but to begin with he was nice and charming. I was young and in love and I thought we would change the world together for faunus rights."

Blake's hand squeezed Yang's tightly. "But that love turned to fear when he began to get angry at the world for the mistreatment of faunus. He would take it out on me because according to him, my peaceful attempts for equality were weak and pathetic and he wanted to show me how it should be done. It got to the point where I was too terrified to leave him. He used to hit me if I even talked to another man. What would he have done if I had told him I was leaving? I mean he..."

Taking a deep shaky breath Blake took her hand away from Yang's and used it to lift the bottom of her shirt up slightly revealing the scar along her stomach. Yang's eyes widened at the sight before they quickly moved back to Blake's which were close to tears.

"He stabbed me with a kitchen knife when he found out I was pregnant. I was such a coward for never leaving sooner."

Blake dropped her hands into her lap, noticing they were shaking uncontrollably, but Yang quickly scooted nearer to her and put her metal arm around Blake's shoulders while her other real hand clasped over Blake's.

"Hey, it's alright, I'm here and you're safe. I'm sorry you went through that Blake, but being the victim of abuse doesn't make you a coward so don't even think for a second again that you are. I honestly think you're one of the bravest people I know, to have put up with all of that. I just wish I had known you sooner, so I could have helped get you out of that situation," reassured Yang, gently rubbing Blake's arm.

Blake leaned into Yang, powerless to help noticing how warm she was, and breathed in the blonde's comforting lavender scent that lingered on her clothes. Yang's chin came to rest atop of Blake's head, between her dark velvet ears, and Blake heard her swallow and inhale deeply.

"I'm sorry, I really shouldn't be putting all my baggage on you like this. We barely know each other," acknowledged Blake. Yang gave her a small squeeze while running her thumb over the back of Blake's hand.

"If you need someone to talk to, I'm happy to be the person who listens. I'd really like to be friends if that's what you would like too? I think you're pretty fantastic," said Yang, in all honesty.

Blake lifted herself up off Yang's side and smiled up at her. "I'd like that. I think you're pretty fantastic too."

Yang beamed brightly, and they leaned back against the bench with Yang keeping her arm around Blake's shoulders and rubbing her hand until the shakes had stopped.

"I have a follow up question from what you told me about your ex," mentioned Yang, after a couple of minutes of silence.

Blake turned her head towards Yang. "What is it?"

"You don't have to answer if you're not comfortable but what made you decide to keep Kit?"

Ah, that question. The question Blake was badgered about frequently by her parents and Velvet wondering why on Remnant she would keep the child of her abuser.

"There was a moment in the hospital, after Adam stabbed me, and I had come too from my surgery where the doctors said it wasn't likely Kit had made it," started Blake. She glanced over at Kit who was now on the swings kicking her legs back and forth using the momentum to get higher in the air. "For a moment I thought that was fine, I didn't want a reminder of Adam living inside me after all he had done, but then the doctor did an ultrasound and I heard her heartbeat. The doctor said to me _'my what a fighter,'_ and I said, _'no, she's a survivor'_. I knew then and there she would grow up and take after her mother. Obviously there are some parts of her that are taken after her father, but I don't see them as Adam's traits anymore; I see them as hers and she's wonderful. So what I once loved then feared is now something I can love again."

Yang sat enraptured by her story with a heartfelt smile on her face and followed Blake's line of sight where Kit was waving at them each time she reached the peak of her swing. The two of them waved back at her making her laugh.

"She's an amazing kid," said Yang, turning back to Blake. "You're a great mom."

Blake's heart soared at the praise. "Thank you."

The two fell into a comfortable silence taking in the scenery around them and going back to watch Kit who was now climbing up the rope pyramid and easily made it to the top. Blake tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and began thinking of what to talk about next. She thought about how well Yang got along with Kit and the other students she taught, and a question quickly popped into mind that she hadn't wondered before.

"So, any children on your end?"

Yang's eyes widened, and she let out a little laugh. "Ha, nah. I mean don't get me wrong, I'd love to have a kid one day but..." Yang gestured to her robotic arm once more. "A lot of folks tend to get kind of put off by the stump."

Blake frowned, appalled that people would ignore dating this wonderful woman simply because of having one real arm.

"It's their loss," she said, hoping to reassure Yang somewhat.

It seemed to do the trick as Yang perked up slightly and stared at Blake with an unsure but hopeful look in her soft lilac eyes.

"You really don't mind it?" She asked, a little uncertain.

Blake wriggled her cat ears. "Do my ears bother you?"

Yang shook her head vigorously. "God no! They're a part of you and you're great so why should I judge you based off your ears?"

"Vice versa about your arm," replied Blake, pointedly. Yang seemed stunned for a minute and Blake continued. "I used to hide my ears, you know? It took me years to realise that I didn't have to hide who I was and that I didn't have to pretend to be human. There's still racism against faunus out there but why should I have to hide who I am? It took me having Kit to fully understand that. I never wanted to be ashamed of myself in front of her. I wanted her to grow up with the confidence that she should never have to hide who she is."

Yang remained quiet for a moment. "I understand. I mean, I'm never going to understand what it's like being a faunus and being discriminated against for who I am. But I understand the looks people give. They either look at me with pity in their eyes and they feel sorry for me or they look at my stump with disgust and make fun of me. I just find it easier to keep it covered and let no one know rather than have anyone treating me differently because of it. Unfortunately I can't wear it in the pool because the water will break it, so I have to put up with the staring there."

Blake rested her hand atop of Yang's mechanical one and their eyes met. "You shouldn't have to hide it. No one worth your time will think less of you for it."

She was sure she could see Yang's eyes watering over before the blonde suddenly leaned forward and wrapped both her arms around Blake in a massive hug. Blake remained motionless for a second before circling her arms around Yang's muscular frame. Their embrace didn't last for long as Yang pulled back a couple of seconds later.

"Sorry," she mumbled, embarrassed. "I can get pretty touchy-feely sometimes."

"It's alright," smiled Blake, wishing for Yang to hug her again. "I get the feeling you needed that."

"You have no idea," laughed Yang, wiping at the liquid in her eyes.

For another ten minutes they sat talking with one another about little things that they liked and disliked. Yang found it partially amusing that Blake loved tuna so much and promised to make her famous tuna pasta bake one day and Blake laughed at Yang's story of when she lost her prosthetic arm in someone's shopping trolley and had to track it down at the supermarket. Kit eventually wandered back to her mother and cuddled close saying she was cold so the three of them set back on walking to the car park.

When they got there Blake let Kit sit in the car with the ignition on, so she could warm up with the heater as Yang quickly popped inside to get her money. She came back out a couple of minutes later and came to stand by Blake's side who had stood guarding the blonde's bags.

"Thanks Blake," said Yang, kneeling down to get out her rolled up leathers.

"It's no problem. So, I'll see you on Wednesday for volunteering, yeah?" Yang asked, hopping on the spot as she pulled her leather pants up.

"Yes, I'll see you then," promised Blake.

The two of them stood in front of each other for a moment before awkwardly going in for a quick hug. Kit watched closely from inside the car as the two of them pulled away from one another with pink cheeks that had nothing to do with the cold weather.

"Thanks for the talk Blake," said Yang, smiling. Blake opened her car door and turned back to Yang before stepping in.

"You too. It's nice to have a new friend."

Her words got the desired effect as Yang grinned brightly at her and Blake got into the car, smiling to herself, and slowly started to reverse away. Yang waved goodbye, continuing to wear her goofy grin, as the occupants inside the little black car waved back before driving off home.

* * *

 **These two have been through a lot but now they're friends. :D YAY!**

 **Don't forget to leave a review and let me know what you thought! More to come next Friday!**

 **Reeves3.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with RWBY.**

 **Author's Note: HI! Finally found time in the day to upload this chapter! Thank you all for the lovely reviews for the previous chapter. Fun fact - this chapter didn't exist when I posted this first chapter but after reviewing the chapters, I realised there was too big of a gap between Chapter 6 and 7 so I wrote this one quickly for more bees on a friend outing (it's a date). :D**

 **Thank you to my good friend Callum for proof reading for me!**

 **I hope you all like this chapter!**

 **Reeves3.**

* * *

 **Chapter Seven**

"Miss! Max keeps pinch punching me!"

Blake sent Yang a compassionate smile as the teacher thumped her head back onto the headrest and let out a long, drawn out sigh. The bus rattled as it remained stationary in the line of traffic, on its way back to Vale Primary school after the latest swimming class. After several minutes of only inching forward, the children were starting to get impatient and rowdy. The thirty children appeared to be extra hyped up from the Halloween candy, devoured the previous night, and were discovering the joys of what they could do to someone at the start of a new month.

Standing up from her seat Yang turned around to look directly over the seats behind the two girls seated directly behind Yang and Blake. The small black-haired boy cowered in his seat slightly at the sight of Yang's stern gaze.

"This is your last warning Max. Do it again and I'm sending you to Headmistress Goodwitch when we get back." Once Yang was satisfied that Max was going to behave himself she plopped herself back down next to Blake.

"If we get back," replied Blake, wryly. Yang stared at her with raised eyebrows.

"Do I need to send you to Headmistress Goodwitch too?" She asked, her voice laced with humour. Blake's eyes widened, and she shook her head.

"Once was enough, thank you," she mentioned, causing Yang to break out into a grin.

"She's definitely someone whose good side you want to be on," acknowledged Yang. "But she's a big softy at heart. She loves all the kids and does what she can to help them succeed, same with the staff too."

"All markings of a great Headmistress," mused Blake. "I wish mine had been like that; he was terribly strict. I remember having him take over our class one day, when our regular teacher had taken the day off sick, and I needed the bathroom so bad but he wouldn't let me leave. I ended up wetting myself-,"

"Awwww," cried Yang, wrapping her arm around Blake's shoulders and pulling her in for a hug. Blake rolled her eyes but enjoyed the closeness nevertheless.

"I was around five, okay, I didn't know what to do," she admitted.

"Oh my god, I'm just picturing little baby Blake dancing on the spot with her legs crossed," cooed Yang, and Blake moved away from the hug.

"Anyway," she started, and Yang grinned at her. "When I got home, my parents soon found out and they were livid. I know they went to complain however I don't think much was done about the headmaster, but at least the kids were now able to go to the bathrooms when they asked."

"Damn, for a second there I thought urine so much trouble," said Yang, the beginnings of a smirk twitching at the corners of her lips.

Blake simply put a hand to her head, her fingertips rubbing circles on the side of her forehead. "Why did I agree to become friends with you?"

Yang laughed and nudged into Blake's side. "Because of my charming personality?"

Blake scoffed. "Whatever you say."

Since admitting they would like to be friends at the park, they had began texting each other to get to know more about one another. Very easily a nice friendship had started to form, with the pair of them finding new information out each day and getting laughs from the other by telling silly jokes and puns.

Yang's chuckles soon quietened down and she grinned at Blake, who watched her eyes suddenly light up with realisation.

"Oh! I forgot to ask you yesterday, I have a spare ticket to see the new Star Wars film tonight. I was going to go with my sister, but she's bailed on me. What do you say?" Yang asked, bouncing her leg a little.

"I'd love to," answered Blake, honestly. "But I'd need to check with my friend Velvet if she'll be alright babysitting Kit for the evening."

Yang nodded her head. "Of course, just let me know later."

Blake fished out her phone and began a text message to Velvet.

 **\- Hey Velvet, is it possible for you to look after Kit tonight? I've been invited to go to the cinema. -**

Satisfied with what she had typed out, she pressed send and slid the phone back in her pocket waiting for a reply. Eventually the bus managed to get past the road works, the cause of the traffic jam, and they were on their way back to the school. When the bus finally came to a stop in the school's parking lot, there was a faint buzz from her phone in her back pocket, but she focused on getting the children off the bus first before reading it.

Kit walked by her with a big grin. She had done excellently in the lesson today; she had managed to use the float to go deeper in the water, with the rest of the class, where she just about couldn't stand and didn't panic. Blake couldn't have been more proud.

Once everyone was off the bus Yang said her thanks and goodbyes to each of the three volunteering parents. She gave Blake a final smile before turning around and leading the children back up to the school. Blake began walking over to her car, pulling out her car keys and phone from her pockets, and unlocked her car. She got inside but before she put the keys in, she checked to see the reply from Velvet on her phone.

 **\- Of course I can! Coco and I would love to watch her for the night. -**

The message ended with several bunny emojis and Blake smiled before putting her phone in her bag, that she had hidden in the passenger seat foot well. With one last look at the school, Blake started her car and began the drive back to work.

{-}

Blake opened the front door of her house, finding it already unlocked, and could hear the sounds of three different voices coming from the lounge. She smiled to herself and kicked off her shoes, next to the other pairs lined up by the door, and put her bag on the floor. Entering the lounge, Blake was greeted to the sight of Kit playing 'Connect Four' with Velvet Adel, while her wife, Coco, sat beside her on the settee.

Kit glanced up from her game play when she spotted Blake walk into the room. "Hi Mom!"

Coco, through a pair of designer sunglasses, and Velvet turned to look at her too, and smiled.

"Hey, thought I heard you come home," said Velvet.

"Yeah, I'm late back because Anita was showing me pictures of her new grandson. I need to start getting ready to go out," said Blake, getting jitters in her stomach. After confirming to Yang that Velvet and Coco would look after Kit for the evening, she had instantly replied to say to meet at main entrance of the town centre at six.

"And that's where I come in," said Coco, excitedly. She jumped up from the settee making Velvet wobble as she tried to slot in the yellow counter, but she missed and put it in the wrong place. Kit let out a cheer, seeing that she had won.

"Oh, Coco, you don't have to do that," said Blake, as Coco lifted a portion of her hair, trying to suss if it looked better up or down.

Coco smirked. "Too late. Already picked an outfit for you. Come along."

Velvet gave Blake an apologetic smile before she was dragged off by Coco. They headed into Blake's bedroom where lying across the bed she saw a dark purple dress, that hooked round her neck, with a lace under fitting top and accompanied with a black belt. Black high heeled shoes stood on the floor and there was a black bangle bracelet and earrings side by side at the end of the bed.

Blake turned to stare blankly at Coco. There was a moment where the pair of them stared at one another until Coco shrugged.

"What? It's cute! You'll look fabulous," she cried out.

"First of all, it's freezing outside, second, I'm going to the cinema, and finally, I wore that dress to prom and I don't think it fits me anymore."

Coco pouted. "Darn. Alright, no worries, I can find something else for you to impress your date with tonight."

"M-my w-what?" Stuttered Blake, her eyes widening. "Coco, it's not a date."

A disbelieving look was sent her way. "Uh-huh. Tell me, Blake, do you like this Yang Xiao Long?"

Blake squinted. "How did you know that's her name?"

"Velv's told me you were having swimming lessons with Kit's P.E teacher. Fox's mum still works at the school, so I rang her up to catch up and got some details off her," explained Coco, deviously.

"I swear if you weren't into fashion design, you would make a great spy," said Blake, shaking her head. Coco beamed and skipped towards Blake's wardrobe and dresser, and began rummaging around for a new outfit. Blake picked up her old dress and sat where it had been placed on her bed, admiring the dress and thinking back on the memories she had in it.

"So, come on, answer my question."

Blake put down the dress and let out a sigh. "I don't know... maybe. I like her, and I want to be her friend, but I don't if she'd want to be with..." She cut herself off, unhappy with where she was about to go with that sentence.

Coco paused, and glanced behind her at Blake. "You've got him in your mind, again, don't you?"

"He's there every time I even think that someone could be interested in me," said Blake, bitterly. She glared at the carpet between her feet, angry with herself that Adam could still control her after all this time, and clenched her hands into fists. Then Coco was in her field of view, crouching down in front of her, and placing her hands over Blake's.

"Blake, Velvet and I love you and we want you to be happy. If Yang is putting a smile on your face, causing you to laugh, and making you feel good, then we want you to go for it. This is the first night out you've had since having Kit with someone else, other than Velv and I, so I know you're interested in her. To hell with Adam. Don't let him make camp in your mind, kick him out, and be free of him. We want you to have a great night out tonight."

Coco opened her arms and Blake smiled faintly before letting herself be hugged by one of her closest friends.

"Thanks Coco," she said, appreciatively. The two of them parted and Coco stood back up. "It's still not a date though."

Coco cracked a grin. "Whatever you say."

Blake rolled her eyes as Coco went back to looking through Blake's clothing. Finally, they settled on a white floaty top with a grey cardigan to go over it, dark blue leggings, burgundy shoes, and a yin yang necklace. Coco headed back downstairs to start helping with making dinner as Blake got dressed. When she had completed the finishing touches, tidying up her hair and make-up before finally spraying some perfume on her, she soon joined them all in the kitchen.

"Wow, don't you look snazzy," said Velvet, grinning. She stood at the oven swirling spaghetti around in a pan while Coco had taken over adding the sauce to the mince. Kit was placing knives and forks around the table.

"Thank you, I try," said Coco, fanning herself. Blake laughed as Velvet bumped hips with her wife, and Kit ran up to Blake.

"Can you bring me back some sweets?" She asked, wrapping her arms around Blake's middle.

Blake smiled. "Maybe. Remember, do as your told, be in bed by eight, and don't forget to brush your teeth."

Kit nodded her head. "I will!"

Glancing over at Velvet and Coco, Blake addressed them. "I shouldn't be back too late. Nine, at the latest."

"That's fine, now hop along, or you'll be late," said Velvet. Blake leaned down to kiss the top of Kit's head as she let go of her and went to sit at the table.

"Have fun!" Coco called out, with a wink, as Blake started to leave the kitchen.

The butterflies made their appearance again as Blake picked up her bag, checked her reflection one last time in the mirror, and opened the front door and stepped out into the cold night air. Getting inside her car Blake warmed herself up for a minute before driving to the town centre. It took fifteen minutes to arrive and she parked in the nearest multi-storey car park to the main entrance. There were a few other cars parked here and there as late-night shoppers went about their business, tired employees worked the night shift, while others went about having fun.

Blake found Yang leaning casually against the wall by the ticket machines, checking her phone then glancing around at the several people passing by before looking at her phone again. She wore a brown leather jacket where the sleeves ended at her forearms, and no gloves covered her hands, allowing for her prosthetic to be somewhat shown.

Smiling to herself, her nerves jittering but excited, Blake approached Yang. Luckily the blonde spotted her before she got close enough to spook her and flashed her a megawatt smile.

"Hey! You're right on time," she said, gleefully. "How're you doing?"

Blake tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I'm good. I hope I didn't keep you waiting long."

Yang shook her head and picked up her bag. Blake's eyes couldn't help but be drawn to Yang's rear, covered with a skirt the colour of sunflower petals, before tearing her gaze away as Yang stood up. Donned with her skirt was a horizontal striped white and dark blue t-shirt under her jacket, and dark shoes with thin straps tied around the ankles.

Spinning around, her skirt twirling, Yang grinned at Blake as she stood back up to face her. "So, have you eaten? I'm starving."

"I haven't," replied Blake, unable to help smiling back. "What did you have in mind?"

Together they meandered around the town looking for a place to eat. With forty minutes until the movie started, they decided not to wine and dine at a restaurant and have three servings of food, but decided to go to the fast food joint closest to the cinema which happened to be a KFC. It was pretty busy as they joined the back of the queue. Most people were already sitting at tables enjoying their meals leaving only a few empty tables, Blake hoped one would remain empty for Yang and herself.

"Did you see that post that was going around on Twitter about KFC?" Yang asked, turning away from staring at the overhead menu. Blake shook her head. "Apparently, they only follow eleven people, so I went and checked it out, and it's true. They follow the five Spice Girls and six guys named Herb."

"Really? How come?" Blake asked, confused.

Yang smirked. "Eleven herbs and spices."

Blake shook her head, hopelessly, as Yang laughed beside her. "You're kidding, right?"

"Nope!" Yang answered, popping the 'p'. "You'll have to check it out later, but I promise you, it's true."

Chuckling along with Yang, the two of them reached the counter where a spotty faced teen took their orders. Blake carried their drinks while Yang carried their tray of food over to a table, and sat down to sort out whose food belonged to who. Yang happily tucked into her chicken burger and fries while Blake munched on her barbeque chicken wrap.

"Mmm, these chips are great," moaned Yang, dipping a couple of chips into a generous amount of ketchup.

"I don't think I've ever tried the chips," admitted Blake. Yang appeared scandalised as she stared gobsmacked at Blake briefly before smirking.

"That's a shame, I'd love to give you some, but these are all mine," joked Yang, letting out a maniacal laugh like a cartoon villain. Blake squinted her eyes, seeing Yang's jest, and shrugged nonchalant pretending not to be bothered. A minute passed, and she frowned, glancing over Yang's shoulder and out of the restaurant, then let out a gasp.

"Is that a pigeon doing a back flip?" She asked, absurdly.

Yang's eyes widened. "Where?!"

She spun around in her seat to look at what Blake had seen, but the moment she did so Blake quickly darted her hand across the table and acquired three of Yang's chips. Yang turned back around, confused as to what Blake had seen, then she noticed Blake in the middle of eating her the chips and realised she had been played.

"Did you just steal some of my chips?" She asked, feigning shock.

Blake popped the final chip in her mouth. "... No."

She stared at Yang, the corner of her lips twitching, with innocent eyes and Yang shook her head chuckling at her.

"I'll get you back for that, just you wait and see."

Blake giggled and Yang, despite what she had said, slid her box of chips into the middle of the table for them to share. They made idle chitchat in-between mouthfuls of their food, talking about the previous Star Wars films mostly, until all their food had gone, and their drinks were nearly empty. Blake wiped her fingers clean with a serviette while Yang stuck the tip of each finger she had used to eat, one by one, into her mouth.

"It's so finger licking good!" Yang moaned, sucking the last few crumbs and salt off her index finger.

Blake's mind hurtled forward into the gutter as she briefly wondered what else was finger licking good about the blonde. Her face went uncomfortably hot at devious thoughts, so she ducked her head and grabbed her drink, taking a long, long sip, until it was empty.

"You ready to head to the cinema?" Yang asked, completely oblivious to Blake's internal plight.

Blake put down her empty cup on the tray and nodded her head. "Yeah, let's go."

They picked up their bags, and Yang carried the tray over to one of the bins and slid the rubbish inside before placing the tray on the pile next to it. Together the two of them walked side by side towards the escalators that slowly carried them up to the cinema entrance. There were already queues of people lining up for tickets and snacks but Yang led Blake over to the automatic ticket machines along the left side wall. She got out her card and slid it into the machine, pressed in her details, and a few moments later her card and two tickets popped out.

"What do I owe you for the ticket?" Blake asked, opening her bag. Yang looked at Blake's hands on her bag and shook her head.

"No, no, you don't owe me anything. It's my treat," she said.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course," said Yang, with a dazzling smile, then winked. "You can buy the tickets for the next film we see."

Blake's cheeks flushed as she smiled in agreement. "Sure."

Making their way over to the end of the shorter queue, Blake and Yang waited in line for five minutes, where Blake insisted on buying them big drink of Coca Cola and a large bucket of sweet popcorn for them to share. She also got Kit a packet of skittles, which she put in her bag for safe keeping. They moved over to the usher, who checked their tickets before letting them through, and they strolled down the hallway to the double doors with the neon sign with a number one placed above it.

It was already dark inside as the trailers played on the big screen but there was still enough light for both of them to find their seats. The majority of the seats had been filled already and more people entered as Blake and Yang sat themselves down, sorting out their food and drink, and putting their bags between their feet. They were sat near the top, next to the aisle, with a clear view of the screen. Blake picked the blue straw to drink from, and Yang picked the green, then laughed as Yang overtly attempted to sneak a bit of popcorn off her but she didn't mind at all, just as she knew Yang hadn't minded sharing her chips either.

The movie soon started and the chatter in the room silenced completely. Blake wasn't sure how far into the movie they were when she dipped her hand into the box of popcorn, only for her hand to land on top of Yang's. They both turned away from the screen to look at each other, moving their hands away, and uttered a small apology before going back to watching the film. With just that slightest contact, Blake's heart raced but she was smiling, and was as giddy as a teenager with a crush. Throughout the length of the film the feeling didn't go away, and Blake didn't want it to.

When the credits started to roll, the lights slowly turned on, and people began getting up from their seats. Blake and Yang were quick to grab their bags and get out of the way of the aisle, so the people sitting in the centre wouldn't have to squeeze past them.

"That was great! What did you think?" Yang asked, smiling broadly.

"It wasn't too bad. Usually, I'm not too keen on sci-fi but it was good. Also, the lead actress is very cute," said Blake, before even realising what she was saying. Her eyes widened, and she kept her head low, realising what personal information she had just revealed to her new friend. She didn't fret about it for too long however because Yang soon spoke up.

"Yeah, she is."

Blake lifted her head instantly and stared at Yang, surprised, then blushed deeply as Yang winked at her. _'I guess that answers that,'_ Blake thought, her excitement raising, at the possibilities.

Before leaving the cinema, they used the restrooms to freshen up, and when they were finished they decided they didn't want the night to end just yet. So they headed outside into the chilly night air, with their arms linked and keeping themselves close by each other to stay warm, while they wandered around the town.

They came to a stop at the fountain in the centre of the garden area, and sat down on the edge of it, where the water reflected the street lights and moon. Partygoers waltzed the streets going from club to club while a group of older teenagers messed around with fireworks with no regard for anyone's safety.

"One of them is going to set fire to themselves in a bit if they aren't careful," mentioned Yang. Blake hummed in agreement, then jumped as a rocket shot off into the sky and burst in a shower of pink sparks above them. The teenagers let out cheers and began to light another one.

The next one separated into several white spheres and Blake watched as the light shone in Yang's eyes. The blonde must have sensed she was staring because Yang turned her attention to her and smiled warmly. Their linked arms had dropped lazily to their sides, but their hands were almost touching. They noticed this at the same time and Blake watched as Yang turned her palm over, offering her hand, and Blake smiled as she placed her hand in Yang's.

Gold and purple sparks showered the night sky above them, drawing their attention to the fireworks once more.

"Oooh, that's a pretty one," said Blake.

"Yeah, it is," agreed Yang, with a content sigh.

Blake didn't notice how Yang had been staring at her.

* * *

 **So much gay. :P**

 **I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and don't forget to leave a review! :D**

 **Reeves3!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with RWBY.**

 **Author's Note: Hello all! I want you to know you're all amazing and I'm incredibly thankful for all the hits each chapter gets, the reviews, alerts and favourites this story gets each time a new chapter comes up. This is my favourite chapter, and might be all of yours too. ;)**

 **Thank you to my good friend Callum for proof reading for me! :D**

 **I hope you all do like this chapter! It's a nice long one!**

 **Reeves3**

* * *

 **Chapter Eight**

Large iron gates slowly swung open with a constant creak in front of Blake's car as she stared down at the length of the long driveway. Unsure if she was at the right place Blake checked the GPS on her phone, sitting in its hands-free kit attached to the windscreen, and saw the little car icon directly above the destination waypoint. She reached for the little piece of paper on her lap where she had written the address on it that morning to double check she had entered the right address.

"Mom, are we visiting royalty?" Kit asked, as Blake gradually began moving the car down the drive.

"I honestly don't know," said Blake, looking around at the acres of grassland surrounding the estate.

Early that morning, after Blake had finished her first cup of coffee and Kit was still sound asleep upstairs, Blake's mobile had rung with Yang's name lighting up the screen. Blake answered if after a couple of rings eager to hear the blonde's voice again. Yang cheerily greeted Blake upon hearing her smooth monotone voice, then began to tell her the situation. Apparently, the pool's pump at the Vale Leisure Centre had malfunctioned during the night and hadn't been filtering the water correctly leaving the water to become murky green. That meant that swimming lessons today were cancelled, however Yang invited her and Kit to come along to spend the day at her sister and fiancée's place where they had a pool to swim in too.

After Blake had double checked with Yang that it was fine with her sister and her fiancée for them to be there Blake had agreed to come along for the day.

So now here they were, parking next to Yang's bike, staring around in awe at the three-story house on top of a hill in the countryside. Blake and Kit headed over to the front door, their swim bags in hand, and Kit reached up on tiptoes to ring the doorbell that chimed beautifully inside the house.

A dog barking and paws scurrying along a hardwood floor made both cat faunus ears prick up, Blake with apprehension but Kit with excitement, and suddenly a small corgi was jumping up on the opposite side of the door.

"Zwei! Get away from the door," Yang's voice called out. Behind the opaque glass Blake could just about see Yang bending down to pick up the dog before opening the front door.

"Heya," she welcomed, warmly.

"Hi Yang," said Kit, rushing forward to give Yang a quick hug around the waist. Yang chuckled and patted the top of Kit's head until she let go of her teacher to let Zwei sniff her fingers. He gave them a cautious sniff with his wet nose before deeming Kit to be friendly and started licking her digits. Yang let go of Zwei and placed him on the floor so Kit could begin fussing him as she giggled at his overfriendly behaviour. Blake stepped in allowing Yang to close the door behind her and the two of them met each other's gaze.

"Hi," repeated Yang, almost dreamily.

"Hello," Blake smiled, a wonderful warmth spreading all over her.

Zwei barked and Blake jumped breaking the two of them out of their spell. Yang glanced between Zwei, who was rolling on his back getting his tummy rubbed by Kit with his tongue lolling out, and Blake before realisation sparked in her eyes.

"Not afraid of him, are ya?" She asked, giving Blake a little nudge with her elbow.

"It's not that bad," promised Blake.

"Maybe I can help you get over your fear of dogs too," teased Yang, with a wink. Yet Blake knew she was being serious under the guise of the joke.

Blake let out a small laugh. "Maybe."

Yang led Blake down the hallway and Kit quickly followed them, not keen on being away from her mum for too long and Zwei trotted at her heels, as they passed a couple of utility rooms into the kitchen where two women were standing by the island counter. The one had dark red hair cropped short around her shoulders with shining silver eyes as she happily munched on a cookie while the second had snow white hair and bright blue eyes while she politely sipped on some iced tea.

When they noticed the three of them enter the room they turned their attention away from each other and focused on their guests and Yang did the introductions.

"Blake, Kit, this is my little sister Ruby," she said, indicating to the redhead then mentioned to the white haired woman, "and her fiancée Weiss Schnee. Weiss, Ruby, this is Blake Belladonna and her daughter Kit."

"It's nice to meet you both," said Blake. There was something familiar about the woman in white, although Blake was having a tough time putting her finger on it.

"Hi," mumbled Kit, almost standing by Blake's leg's.

Ruby flashed them both a grin. "Hi there! It's nice to meet you too! Yang's told us so much about you."

A quick glance over at Yang showed her cheeks turning red by the second prompting Blake to smirk.

"All good things I hope," mentioned Blake, her eyes twinkling.

"Of course, Yang wouldn't say anything bad about someone she lik-ow!"

It was Blake's turn to blush now after Weiss had gently elbowed her partner in the side to get her to stop from saying anything to further embarrass Yang. In doing so Weiss sent a glare at Ruby and Blake instantly remembered where she had seen Weiss before.

"I recognise you," she started, earning Weiss's attention. "I wrote a piece on you for The Daily Vale several years back when you overthrew your father and took back your family's company. In doing so you gave equal pay and rights to the faunus who work for you. I thought I recognised your name but then I remembered the picture that was used."

Weiss smiled, faintly. "I read that article, I actually still have it saved on my computer; it was in high praise. I appreciate it."

"Well, thank you for what you did," said Blake, sincerely. Ruby had offered the plate of cookies towards Kit to try and coax her out from behind Blake. It worked because Kit attentively stepped forward and took a cookie off the plate and bit into it.

"Are you two going to join us for a swim?" Yang asked, taking a cookie for herself.

Ruby shook her head. "Nah, I've already had a swim earlier and Weiss is going for a ride on the horses."

"You have horses?" Kit asked, her eyes lighting up.

"I have two of them. Would you like to see them after you've gone swimming?" Weiss asked, kindly. Kit nodded her head frantically in reply as her mouth was once again full of cookie.

"Right, let's go get the pool set up for you guys then," said Ruby, clapping her hands together in front of her.

"God dammit Ruby, haven't you done that already?" Yang complained, nagging at her sister as she walked by her where she grabbed her good-humouredly messing up her younger sister's hair. The two of them continued to playfully bicker at one another as the five of them walked back in the direction they had come. Weiss stopped halfway at one of the utility rooms where a large amount of riding clothes and equipment resided while the other four carried on just past the entrance where another door stood.

It led into a small little air lock room so once the four of them were crammed in their Yang shut the door behind them and Ruby opened up the door to the swimming pool. The first thing Blake noticed were the white sheets draped across the oak wood ceiling and the dark blue walls with oak panelling along the bottom half of it. The concrete floor had been designed to look like sand with scallop shells cemented into it too as wicker furniture, with gray cushions, rested upon it at the side in front of numerous large glass window panes that also doubled as doors to walk onto the patio area. There were a couple of fake palm trees in the each of the back corners and in the middle, with a protective cover over it, was the pool and a jacuzzi built into the corner.

"Ooooh," approved Kit, stepping into the heated room.

"What do you think?" Yang asked, happily. She walked over to the other end of the pool to press a button on the machine attached slightly above it. A low hum filled the room and the cover on the pool began to retract into the container revealing mosaic blue and white tiles glistening under the water.

"This place is magnificent," sighed Blake, in wonderment.

She turned around and noticed there were two bathrooms which doubled as a changing room while a third room with a shoddy door opened up to the boiler room which Ruby entered. Kit went up to Yang who had retrieved the inflatable banana and crocodile from behind the furniture. Ruby soon popped back out the room, closing the door behind her after she had turned on the pump and boiler bringing the pool to life, joining Blake at her side. They watched as Kit attacked Yang with the banana who was laughing and trying to get back at Kit with the crocodile.

"She's come a long way from when she taught me how to swim," commented Ruby.

Blake smiled and asked. "How did she teach you?"

Ruby shrugged. "She threw me in."

"What?!" Blake exclaimed, making Ruby chuckle.

"Like I said, she's come a loooong way. Enjoy your swim!"

After Blake had rescued Yang from Kit's inflatable assault she took her into one of the changing rooms as Yang took the other one. When they emerged, Yang had already blown up a pair of armbands for Kit who quickly went to put them on. Getting into the water was a lot easier now and Blake was happy to find out it was a lot warmer than the public pool. Yang and Kit quickly joined her carrying an inflatable each where they had an hour of fun.

With Kit sitting on the crocodile Blake and Yang pretended to be sharks, Yang going under water to circle her as Blake hummed the Jaws theme, causing Kit to squeal with joy.

"She's coming to get you, Kit," teased Blake, slowly approaching as low in the water she could get.

"I know, but where?" She cried out, kicking her legs to try and get away.

Kit let out a shriek as Blake nabbed her up in her arms where tickles insured until Kit could barely breathe from laughing so hard. Yang then popped up with a splash behind them like a creature from the black lagoon, with her hair plastered down all over her face, which made them break out into more laughter.

They played more games with Kit, and she even took off her armbands at one point to float with the banana and Blake noticed, her heart swelling, that Yang was keeping an extra watchful eye on her. Eventually Kit got out to go have a shower as Blake and Yang wandered over into the jacuzzi part where Yang turned on the bubbles and they relaxed into it.

"Oh my god, why was I ever afraid of the water? This is great," moaned Blake, leaning her head back letting her eyes roll back too as the constant bubbles ran along her back. She peeked open her eyes noticing Yang was staring at her almost resembling a tomato. Blake blushed too realising what Yang must have been thinking so she sat up breaking Yang out of her daydream.

"Y-yeah, it's wonderful," stuttered Yang, avoiding eye contact.

"Do you live here too? With your sister?" Blake asked, trying to defuse the awkward tension.

Yang shook her head. "No, no, no, nooo, I've got my own place back on the outskirts of town. Do you know Kingswood Street?"

"Yeah, I know that area. It's a short walk away from where I live."

"Really?" Yang asked, lighting up a bit. "I'm up on that street at number 5. Where did you grow up? My sister and I were on the little island of Patch just off the coast of Vale."

"I grew up on Menagerie," answered Blake, reminiscing her old home. "It's kind of like this room but...real."

"I bet it's beautiful. I'd love to go there one day," dreamed Yang, with a sigh.

A few minutes later Kit opened up the door and emerged fully dressed, with her hair wrapped up in her towel. Yang promised to watch over her, as Kit lay down on the wicker settee, while Blake went to go have a shower next. The room was a mess of water and soap leaving Blake to wonder how Kit had managed to make such a mess without getting Blake's pile of clothes soaked. Turning on the shower Blake stepped under the streams of water using the complementary body wash and shampoo with conditioner. When she was finished she cleaned up as much as the water as possible then got changed and wrapping her hair up in her towel too.

Back out in the pool area Ruby had reappeared and was helping Yang put the cover back over the water as Kit fussed with Zwei who had followed his owner into the room.

"All finished?" Yang asked, smiling brightly at her.

"Yes," replied Blake, relaxed. "Are there any hairdryers around?"

"I can get you some," piped up Ruby.

Yang went to go have a shower and Ruby led Blake and Kit out the pool and into the room next to where all the equestrian gear was stored and retrieved a hairdryer and comb for them. Blake dried Kit's hair first as she stood in front of her wincing each time Blake caught her human ears with the edge of the comb or found a knot. She was released once her hair was mostly dry and raced off to go play with Zwei. Blake then dried her own hair and was finishing up when Yang appeared in the doorway with her prosthetic back in place and no hoodie covering it.

"Kit Kat is down in the lounge with my sister," she informed, accepting the hairdryer off Blake. Their fingertips shared a spark as the item was passed between them, but Blake played it off as just static from the electronic device.

"Is she playing with...Zwei, right?"

"Yeah," grinned Yang. "They're playing tug-o-war."

Blake nodded then moved past Yang so they could switch places and she journeyed down the hallway into the kitchen where an open sliding door led into the living room. Kit was kneeling on the carpet using a toy rope to play tug-o-war with Zwei as he growled and pulled from the other end while Ruby supervised from the leather settee.

"I think Zwei's got a new best friend," commented Ruby, with a smile. Blake sat down opposite her in one of the leather chairs watching Kit play with the dog.

"I think Kit does too," she replied, as Zwei won the war and was rewarded with head rubs.

"Mom?" Kit asked, shuffling over to Blake's chair leaving Zwei to chew on the rope. "Can I have another cookie?"

"You shouldn't be asking me. Ask Ruby nicely if she'll let you have another one," said Blake, her eyes flicking to Ruby, prompting Kit to turn around and face the redhead herself.

"Please may I have another cookie Ruby?" Kit asked, again, hopefully.

Ruby grinned. "Of course you can. They're on a plate in the kitchen on the counter."

Kit scampered off into the kitchen and returned a few moments later to run and jump into Blake's lap with a cookie in her hand. Ruby and Blake began making small talk and ended up talking about their favourite books which Kit joined in on too. Funnily enough Ruby shared the same favourite books as Kit; the Harry Potter series. By the time Yang and Weiss had joined them Blake had sussed that Ruby was very child-like at heart.

"Would you like to see the horses now, Kit?" Weiss asked, when the conversation had died down. Kit instantly jumped off Blake's legs, that had been growing increasingly numb, and ran up to Weiss.

"Yes! Can we? What are their names? Do they eat carrots? Can I pet them?"

Weiss looked massively dazed by the sudden onslaught of questions and Yang snickered at her before coming to her rescue.

"How about you join Weiss and Kit, Ruby, and I'll give Blake a tour of this place?" She suggested, looking round the group.

"Yeah, I'm happy to join along," said Ruby, getting up from her seat. Weiss and Ruby, with Kit in-between them, began walking over to the door leading outside to the stables while starting to answer all of Kit's rapid-fire questions. Yang watched them go then turned towards Blake.

"So, you up for a little walk about?"

Blake smiled, shyly. "Sure."

Yang showed her around the rest of the first floor to begin with which included the dining room, a second but much bigger lounge, a bathroom, the front door and foyer, apparently Blake had entered through the side door earlier, and led her up a set of wooden stairs up to the second floor.

"So where did your sister and Weiss meet?" Blake asked, desperately trying not to stare at Yang's rear as she followed her up the staircase.

"They met in college. Weiss was seventeen and was doing business studies and Ruby had skipped ahead two years and was doing mechanical engineering. They didn't get off to the best start, on the first day Ruby bumped into her and greased up Weiss' posh new outfit, but about a month later Ruby spotted Weiss having car troubles and helped her out. From then on, they became friends and girlfriends a year later," told Yang.

"That's really sweet," replied Blake. Yang showed her around the second floor which consisted of a linen closet filled with bed sheets and towels, and three bedrooms complete with en-suite bathrooms.

"I'm a little bit jealous of them really," confessed Yang, as Blake wondered around one of the spare bedrooms. "I always wanted to find a love like they've got."

"I know that feeling," agreed Blake, wistfully. She gave Yang a gentle smile however and saw her return it. "But I'm sure you'll find someone one day Yang, you're gorgeous."

Blake internally screamed at herself. _'What the hell was that? She's going to know for sure you're into her now. What happened to just being friends, Blake?'_

Yang laughed at her comment though and gave her a wink. "You sure you're not looking in a mirror over there?"

Blushing, Blake bowed her head and moved to follow Yang up another set of stairs to the third floor. The biggest room up here was Ruby and Weiss's bedroom, which Yang didn't want to venture into, but she showed Blake the one room that made up their entire wardrobe which left her stunned.

"This room is bigger than my kitchen," she acknowledged, wondering how one person could own so many pairs of shoes.

"Ha! Same here. Come over here, there's a little secret door that leads into another room," said Yang, over by the rack of coats. Blake made her way over and indeed there was a small door that opened up into a tiny corridor. The two of them crouched into it and wondered down it where Yang began to push the handle down.

"I'm not actually sure what they have in this room. So long as it's not a se-"

Whatever joke Yang was about to make died on her lips as the door swung open revealing several open boxes with bronze, silver, and gold trophies piling out the top of them, two corkboards with ribbons and badges of different colours decorating them, stacks of certificates, and lots of photographs.

Blake slowly stepped into the room, being able to stand at full height again, and walked over to the nearest dust covered box. She picked up an old framed photograph of a group of children, a blue banner above them reading 'Vale Kids Swimming Team', and easily picked out Yang, standing next to the child in the centre, holding a silver trophy. She appeared to be around Kit's age with a gap-tooth grin and her blonde curls in pigtails, as she proudly held up her award. Slowly she lowered the photograph and gazed out at all the other awards.

"Are...Are these all yours?" Blake asked, completely blown away by the sheer amount of them.

"Y-yeah."

Blake heard the crack in Yang's voice and she looked over to see Yang watching her closely.

"Why are they here?" Blake asked, curious. She turned back to pick up a swimming certificate made out in Yang's name for coming in first place.

"I... I asked Ruby to get rid of them for me. I had no idea she kept all of it," admitted Yang, with a sigh.

Blake wanted to ask why she had wanted all of these memories to be destroyed but a letter on top of one of the boxes, with a logo of five rings in the centre of the page, caught her attention. Heading over to it Blake picked it up and her eyes widened as she read the contents.

"This is an acceptance letter to the Olympics," she stated, flabbergasted. "You qualified for the Olympic trials and got in. You're an Olympian!" Blake cried, excited. She couldn't believe Yang hadn't told her that about herself already. If she was an Olympian that would have been one hell of an icebreaker.

She turned on the spot, grinning widely, only to see Yang shaking her head sadly and Blake could see all the devastation and heartbreak in those shattered eyes. Understanding she had jumped to the wrong conclusion Blake realised something terrible must have happened for Yang to have turned down the Olympics. She had a pretty good idea of what it was.

Placing the letter down where she found it Blake walked back over to Yang, who was staring at the floor, and took her hand in her own causing the blonde to look at her with tears shining in her eyes.

"What happened?" Blake asked, her voice gentle.

Yang let out a shaky sigh. "Ever since I was a kid I wanted to be an Olympian. I would sit for hours on the floor watching them compete on the TV and I knew swimming would be my sport. I barely spent a day out of the water since I learned how to swim. I was seventeen when I got that letter and I was so god damn happy."

There was a moment of silence as Yang collected her thoughts as a tear ran down her cheek.

"To celebrate, I went out clubbing." Yang shook her head, biting her lip, as more warm tears welled up in her eyes. "God, I wish I hadn't."

"I took my father's car and on the way there some crazy person decided to drive on the wrong side of the road. I swerved to try and get out the way, but he clipped the back of the car and caused it to go rolling into a ditch."

Blake squeezed the calloused hand in her own tightly and Yang sniffed and wiped away a couple of her tears.

"I woke up at the hospital later to find my arm had been amputated and my dreams of being an Olympian crushed."

The flood gates opened fully as Yang let out a choked sob, unable to carry on speaking, and Blake quickly wrapped her arms around Yang's neck. The crook of her neck got soaked with tears and snot, but Blake didn't find it in herself to care as Yang circled her arms around Blake's waist pulling her closer.

"I-It was a-all my fault," blubbered Yang, unable to let go of the self blame that had plagued her for nine years.

"No, it wasn't. It was the other driver. It was his fault driving on the wrong side of the road," reassured Blake, soothingly. "You can't blame yourself for something you had no control over."

"I k-know, I-I do k-know, but if I-,"

"No!" Blake said, stubbornly. She pulled back, cupping Yang's cheeks in her hands, and frowned at her determined to get her point across. She wasn't going to let Yang keep going down this path which she figured had long since been trodden down. "You can spend the rest of your life saying 'what if' but it happened and you can't change it. I wished I had never met Adam, but I did and those were the worst years of my life, but I have to look at what good came out of it. You have to look at the good things too. Tell me Yang, tell me the good things that came from you losing your arm."

Yang closed her eyes, thinking deeply. "I-I got a new one."

Blake nodded. "And?"

Lilac eyes opened again, peering with uncertainty at Blake.

"I went to college," she prompted.

"To do what?"

"I became a teacher," answered Yang, with a small smile.

"Good! And?"

"And I met you."

Overcome with emotion at the raw sincerity of Yang's honesty, the two of them took a miniscule of a second to search each other's eyes for permission, before drawing together like magnets in a blissfully hungry kiss. Blake's heart beat like a drum to her favourite song and her stomach did flip-flops like a pancake being tossed into the air but couldn't have been anymore euphoric. Screw her anxieties, screw her fears, screw the scars Adam had burned into her mind, right now there was just Yang and this kiss.

They clung to each other desperate to touch more but not wanting to overstep any unspoken boundaries so instead they held tighter, pressing their bodies close, as Yang lightly caught Blake's lower lip between her teeth and bit on it gently. A groan rolled out from the back of her throat and Blake parted her lips for Yang's tongue that sought entrance. Yang tasted sweet and smelled of vanilla and honestly Blake was already addicted. No one has one scoop of ice cream though because once they parted slightly Blake was going back for seconds.

Blake wasn't sure how long they stayed locked in that second kiss but by the time they separated the pair of them were out of breath. They rested their foreheads lightly against the other taking their time to process what they had just done.

"Holy shit," swore Yang, "that was...wow."

"It was," sighed Blake, out of breath. She smiled up at Yang wiping away a stray tear that remained on her cheek with her thumb.

"MOM! I FED A HORSE!"

The pair of them jolted apart as Kit's voice called up from two stories below and suddenly all the worries about getting into a relationship came flooding back to Blake. Guilt pitted deep inside her like a rotten apple core when she realised she hadn't even thought about what Kit would make of all of this.

Yang tucked a lose strand of hair behind her ear and wiped away the damp patch on her shoulder where she had cried into earlier.

"Let's talk about this later?" Yang promised, and all Blake could do was nod her head.

She followed Yang back out through the tiny corridor and into the wardrobe which they quickly left and started heading back downstairs but not before Yang had quickly composed herself in one of the bathrooms.

When they returned to the lounge Ruby was turning on the TV and Wii as Kit eagerly bounced nearby holding four controllers that had been placed in white plastic wheels. They could hear Weiss in the kitchen opening a can of dog food for Zwei who was whimpering and running back and forth between his two owners.

"There you are! You two up for some Mario Kart?" Ruby asked, grinning.

"Yeah! I'm always happy to kick your butt every round," teased Yang, accepting a controller off Kit.

"I'm gonna kick all your butts!" Kit challenged, sticking her tongue out.

Blake declined their invitation to join, happy to watch at the sidelines with Weiss who joined her after feeding Zwei, where they talked about each other's careers pausing now and then to cheer Ruby, Yang and Kit on. As the afternoon wore on Weiss and Blake got up to continue their conversation in the kitchen as Weiss put a few pizza's in the cast iron AGA cooker along with a tray of chips and Blake took out glasses from the cabinet.

The two of them lay the small table in the living room with a placemat each, cutlery, and everyone's requested drinks before the two of them sat back down in a chair each to watch the last few races. By the time the food was ready Kit was victorious with five wins against Ruby's four thanks to Yang sabotaging Ruby's win with a blue shell right at the end. Kit had been picked up by Yang and spun around in the air as Ruby faked dying on the floor prompting Zwei to bark and push his snout at Ruby's face making her laugh.

The five of them headed into the kitchen where three pizzas with different toppings on each were served up along with a bowl of chips. They put the slices of pizza they wanted onto their plates before sitting at the table to eat with the bowl of chips in the centre for everyone to share. The four adults watched with amusement as Kit began to mimic Weiss by using a knife and fork to eat her pizza.

When their bellies were full, and Ruby and Yang had finished off the last remaining slices the two of them loaded up the dishwasher before joining Weiss, Blake, and Kit in the living room once more. Ruby let Kit play on her Switch as she curled up with Zwei on the settee getting lost in the world of Hyrule while the adults talked, joked and laughed as if they had all been good friends for years.

Blake lost track of the time until her ears picked up the small chime from the foyer dinging nine times. It was dark out already, had been since six, thanks to the winter nights and a quick glance at Kit showed her she was fighting off sleep.

"I didn't realise how late it was," started Blake, getting up. "I think we better get you to bed Kit."

"Nooooo," moaned Kit, rolling over to turn away. Ruby, Yang, and Weiss smiled as they stood up too and stretched their tired limbs.

"Alright, I'll leave you here then," sighed Blake, dramatically.

"Nooooo!" Kit cried, quickly getting up and rushing to her mother. Blake chuckled and ran a hand through Kit's hair.

"Do you have something you want to say to Weiss and Ruby?" Blake asked, and Kit nodded tiredly. She went over to the red and white pair and handed Ruby her Switch back.

"Thank you for letting me swim in your pool and stay at your house," she said, smiling.

"That's quite alright Kit," Weiss replied, and Ruby grinned.

"Aww, she's so cute! I can't wait till we adopt kids!"

"Wait, what?!"

Yang let out a laugh at Weiss's shocked expression. "I think I better head off as well and leave you two to talk about that."

They all walked back to the side door where Blake and Kit had entered earlier and put their shoes on which they had left by the door after swimming earlier. Yang put on her leathers too which were piled on the floor covering her helmet and boots. She hugged her little sister and Weiss and said goodbye and Blake waited until they were done before giving them a smile.

"Thank you for inviting us round to your home, it's lovely."

"It's been a pleasure to have you here," said Weiss, then looked over at Ruby.

"Yeah, we'd love to have you and Kit around again sometime," the redhead added.

Yang opened the door and she let Kit and Blake out first before following while Ruby and Weiss stood in the doorway ready to wave goodbye. Blake unlocked the car and Kit climbed into the passenger seat but before Blake got in also she turned to Yang who was clipping her helmet together underneath her chin.

"Can you follow us home?" She asked, playing with her car keys. "I would like to talk to you about...what happened earlier."

Yang nodded, and swung her leg over onto her bike as Blake got into her car. Blake backed up and turned the car around and the two of them waved goodbye to Weiss and Ruby as they began heading up the long driveway with Yang behind them.

It took them twenty minutes to arrive at their home and by that time Kit had fallen fast asleep against the window. Blake brought the car to a stop on the driveway and unbuckled her and Kit's seatbelts as Yang's bike rumbled to a stop behind them. As quietly as she could Blake got out the car as Yang got off her bike and walked up to Blake taking her helmet off.

"Can you just wait here while I unlock the front door? Kit's asleep," whispered Blake. Yang peered into the car and handed Blake her helmet.

"I'll carry her in," she offered.

"Are you sure?" Blake asked, wanting to be certain.

Yang nodded and walked around to the other side of the car and carefully opened the door, catching Kit as she was about to fall and wake up, and picked her up in her arms shutting the car door behind her. Kit mumbled in her sleep loosely placing her arms around Yang's neck as the blonde carried her over to the front door which Blake had opened. Having placed Yang's helmet by the door Blake closed it behind them both and took off Kit's shoes as Yang continued to hold her. Noticing how cosy Kit appeared in Yang's arms Blake decided not to disturb her further and beaconed with her finger for Yang to follow her up the stairs.

They gradually stepped up the staircase and onto the landing where Blake led Yang past her little library and office, the bathroom, her bedroom, and into Kit's room which was filled with toys, books, DVD's, and Disney posters plastered on the wall. Yang lay Kit down on her bed and Blake took over removing her day clothes and putting her pyjamas over Kit's head. Yang closed the curtains cutting off the orange glow from the street light outside.

"Goodnight little one," murmured Blake, pressing a kiss to Kit's forehead.

Kit rolled over under her duvet and let out a small sigh. "Night mum."

Blake saw Yang smiling at them from the doorway and she moved to join her, closing the door behind them both. The pair of them headed back downstairs into the lounge where Blake turned on a couple of the lamps that filled the room with a warm light. Yang sat herself down on the edge of the settee admiring the pictures on the walls.

"Can I get you a drink or anything?" Blake offered, trying to ignore the rising butterflies in her stomach now she was with Yang alone once more.

Yang twisted her head from side to side. "Nah, I'm good thanks."

Not needing a drink either Blake came to sit by Yang's side where the blonde joined their hands and their fingers entwined. Blake stared down at their joined digits noticing how tough, from so much hard work, Yang's hands were yet still smooth to the touch.

"About earlier, Yang..." started Blake, watching Yang lean forward to catch every word. One of the corners of Blake's lips twitched slightly before she took a deep breath and began to speak her mind.

"I really do like you, Yang. You're the first person since Adam where I've actually felt I've wanted to be with someone," she said. Yang blushed and she smiled a little shyly. "But I need some time to think about it. I don't want to rush into anything and I don't want to hurt Kit either. She absolutely adores you and I don't want to be someone who breaks your heart and breaks hers too. I don't want to lose you as a friend though either-"

"You won't ever lose me as a friend," guaranteed Yang. Blake wanted to argue but the blonde cut her off. "Blake, I think you're really amazing and I meant what I said at the park where I'd love to be your friend and there's an even bigger part of me that would like to be more. But I'm happy to go at your pace and be there for you as a friend or maybe more whatever you decide." She brought her prosthetic up to grab her hair and run a hand through it. "I'm sorry about earlier and not asking your permission before kissing you though. I got a bit caught up in all the emotion."

"That's okay," said Blake, her cheeks warming up as the memory replayed. "I wasn't complaining."

Yang sent her a wink. "You're a really good kisser."

She got a cushion in the face for that making her laugh out loud but quickly hushed herself up afraid of waking Kit. Blake dropped the cushion, her cheeks now ablaze, and Yang grinned cheekily at her.

"How're you real?" Blake asked, with a little laugh.

Grinning widely, Yang bumped her shoulder with Blake's. "I could ask you the same thing."

Blake let go of her hand to instead wrap her arms around Yang's neck and pulled her in for a hug which Yang happily reciprocated.

"Thank you," she mumbled, thanking her lucky stars she had met Yang.

{-}

In Downtown Vale a block of flats resided where graffiti was sprayed all along the walls, broken needles were scattered about in the stairways, shouts could be heard on numerous floors drowned out by loud music with a heavy bass, and the smell of marijuana was constantly present. The door to flat 24 hadn't opened all day but if one had been standing outside of it they would have heard the sounds of someone moving about inside but now it was silent.

Adam Taurus was laying flat on his bed staring up at the cracks in the ceiling and waiting...and waiting...and waiting...

A phone buzzed and Adam robotically sat up.

He crouched down on the floor by his bed and used a nearby screwdriver to pry the loose floorboard open. He threw it to the side and reached in the little hole, shoving aside the printed piece of paper from the library with an address list, then finally grabbed the secret phone he wasn't meant to have. He pressed the button on the screen and the text message he had received popped up from an old accomplice skilled in breaking and entering.

 **\- Job Done. Keeping eye on house for schedule. Will be in touch soon -**

A smirk spread across his lips as a picture message followed next. He opened it up to reveal a picture of a large framed photograph above a fireplace of his love and the child their love had created. He lay back on his bed staring into the glorious golden eyes and happy smiling face of Blake Belladonna.

"I'll be with you soon, my love."

* * *

 ***cue evil laughter***

 **Also I want you guys to know, because it cracks me up every single time I read it, that Kit's line 'MOM I FED A HORSE' is like the equivalent of the 'MOM HOLY F**K' meme and the idea of Kit kicking a door wide open just to say that gets me giggling.**

 **And Yang carrying a sleepy Kit...d'awwww!**

 **I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and don't forget to leave a review! More to come next Friday!**

 **Reeves3.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with RWBY.**

 **Author's Note: Awwwww yeahhhhh! New chapter! Thank you for the awesome reviews in the previous chapter, I'm so pleased you're all loving the story still, and there's just three more chapters left. .**

 **Thank you to my good friend Callum for proof reading for me. :D**

 **I hope you all like this chapter too!**

 **Reeves3.**

* * *

 **Chapter Nine**

"Are you ready, Kit?"

A burst of uncontrollable giggles was the answer she received. Blake saw Yang glancing over at her, but she shrugged unsure what had set Kit off. They were in the swimming pool at Vale's Leisure Centre once more with their session drawing to a close. Blake stood in the shallow end while Yang had Kit in her arms as they stood at the halfway point which was too deep for Kit to stand in. It was another busy Saturday as numerous other swimmers splashed about outside of the divider completing lengths. The pair of them waited, amused, until Kit had calmed herself down to talk again.

"Aye, aye, captain!" She finally cheered, breaking out into giggles again. It took a second for the two of them to get the joke, but they soon joined in laughing along with her. After they had finished laughing they refocused on their current objective and Yang balanced Kit on her hand as she prepared to swim, with her armbands on, towards her mother.

On Yang's mark Kit began moving her arms and legs in the frog like motion she had been taught, as Yang moved along with her keeping a hand under Kit's stomach for the moment. When Yang slowly moved her hand away Kit didn't panic but instead kept going on her own while Blake and Yang encouraged her on. Blake saw Kit grinning as she kept her head above the water and the moment she got close enough Blake picked her up and wrapped her up in her arms.

"You did it! I'm so proud of you!" Blake praised, hugging her tightly.

"Wooooo!" Kit cheered, raising both her arms in the air. Blake grinned at her as Yang swam over to them and Kit leaned back to look at her.

"Yeah! Way to go Kit Kat!" Yang celebrated, she held up her hand. "High five!"

Kit slapped her hand to Yang's with a satisfying clap.

Blake met Yang's gaze where they smiled at each other and her heart began speeding up. Since talking about how they felt the two of them had rang each other a few times throughout the previous week. They mostly chatted about what had happened to them during that day and flirted a little bit. Having weighed the pros and cons about getting involved in a relationship with Yang, Blake had ultimately decided to follow her heart and chose to ignore the fear that prickled in her mind from her years with Adam.

She knew Yang was nothing like Adam, she treated Kit wonderfully, and she was funny, sweet, and patient. Before she could ask out Yang however Blake had to make sure that Kit would be alright with it.

"-ake. Blake? Blake!"

A little bit of water splashed up her front when Yang moved to stand in front of her waving a hand in her face. Blake blinked out of her train of thoughts to see Yang and Kit grinning at her and her cheeks turned pink realising she had been caught away with the fairies.

"There you are," laughed Yang. "I think you were on another planet for a second there. I asked same time next week?"

"It's a date-I mean, yes that's fine," groaned Blake, still lost in her previous thoughts. Yang smiled cheekily at her and Blake wanted to submerge herself under the water. Kit tapped Blake's shoulder and she turned to look at her, who was still in her arms.

"Mom, can Yang come to dinner at ours tonight?" She asked, earning looks of surprise from both adults.

Blake stumbled for an answer. "I err...I suppose so. It depends on what Yang would like to do."

"I'm free," she answered, softly. "I can cook you up that tuna pasta bake if you'd like."

Kit gasped excitedly and her eyes lit up at the word tuna, as she nodded her head frantically. Blake chuckled and smiled at Yang.

"How could I say no?"

"To tuna or to me?" Yang asked, with a wink.

Blake skipped her hand across the water splashing Yang and making her laugh. Agreeing that Yang would be around at theirs by four Blake and Kit got out the pool passing Yang's next student, a timid teenage boy, on their way to the changing rooms. Not being able to help sneaking a glance over her shoulder, Blake spotted Yang watching her go with an awed look and dreamy smile. With her confidence boosted, knowing she was being checked out, Blake added a little sway to her walk before disappearing out of Yang's line of sight.

In the changing rooms Blake and Kit rinsed off then retrieved their towels and dry clothes from the locker before getting dried and dressed. When they were done Kit skipped on ahead with some money in her pocket and got a snack out of the vending machine. After selecting a Twirl, Kit hurried back over to Blake regrettably informing her that they had run out of kit-kats on the way to the car.

Kit ate her chocolate as Blake started driving them both home. She had devoured it in a few short minutes and afterwards she turned down the radio turning to look at Blake with chocolate smeared on each corner of her lips.

"You like Miss Xiao Long, don't you mum?" She asked, with an impish little grin.

Blake's eyes flicked to Kit then back to the road wondering what Kit was getting at. Her daughter was intuitive and barely anything slipped past her radar. If Kit felt something was up, then she was usually on it in seconds and she had no qualms to speaking up about it. Still, before Blake said anything that gave her feelings towards Yang away, she tested the waters just to be sure.

"Of course, she's a nice person." Blake played off casually, flicking up the indicator and turning right at the crossroads.

Kit shook her head. "Nooooo, I mean you really, really, like her. Like Velvet likes Coco!"

Once again Kit had hit the nail on the head. Blake smiled to herself, honestly amazed that she had such a bright and outstanding daughter.

"How did you know?" Blake asked, suspicious, wanting to know how Kit had picked up on her growing attraction to Yang.

Kit kicked her legs gleefully. "You told me that you know you like someone when they make you smile and feel happy. I've seen you smile at each other and I saw you hug at the park."

"I see," replied Blake, with a chuckle. She had indeed told Kit that two years ago when her curious five-year-old self began questioning how love worked.

Blake didn't say anything else and Kit happily turned the radio back up to sing to the songs and catchy jingles in the adverts as they got closer to the house. Pulling the car up on their driveway Blake shut off the engine as Kit unbuckled her seatbelt but before she got out the car Blake reached for her arm to get her attention. Kit stared up at her and Blake bit her lip wondering what Kit's reaction would be.

"Kit, how would you feel if I started dating Yang?" She asked, in one big breath.

It was as though Christmas had come early in Kit's eyes as they lit up like fireworks and she bounced up and down in her seat. She got up and threw herself at Blake, wrapping her arms tightly around her neck.

"I take that as a yes you don't mind?" Blake laughed, and Kit moved away slightly to nod vigorously.

"She makes you happy mommy. I want you to be happy," said Kit, simply.

Blake's lip trembled but she pulled Kit into another big hug unbelievably thankful and content she had this wonderful little faunus as her daughter.

"Oh, and one more thing," mentioned Blake, after they broke apart from their hug. Kit arched an eyebrow wondering what was up but when Blake licked her thumb her eyes widened considerably, and she attempted to wriggle out of her mother's lap as Blake cleared the chocolate off around Kit's lips.

Kit soon escaped, scrambling out the car with a giggle and waited by the front door for Blake to unlock it as she got out the car too, to enter their home.

In the remaining time they had left until four o'clock Blake made some lunch for herself and Kit, before going around tidying up the house while Kit played upstairs in her bedroom. She decided to have a quick shower too, to fully get rid of the chlorine smell and put her best casual outfit, dark trousers paired with a black and white corset shirt, on when she was finished. Blake was putting some sort of sense of style into her hair when the doorbell rang and, after a final glance at her reflection in the mirror, she hurried on downstairs to answer the door.

Swinging it open, Blake revealed Yang and saw her running a hand through her golden curls to get rid of any helmet hair. The one persistent cowlick continued to stick up adorably at the top of her head however. The pair of them smiled at each other and Blake noticed in her hands she carried her helmet in the one and a shopping bag from the local supermarket in the other.

"Hey, come on in," welcomed Blake, stepping aside to allow Yang to enter.

"Thanks. You're looking great," complimented Yang, as Blake closed the door behind her.

Blake's cheeks warmed up. "You too," she replied.

"Do you mind if I put my leathers and helmet somewhere?" Yang asked, unzipping the front of her biker jacket.

"Sure, I'll hang them in the cloakroom," said Blake.

Yang put the shopping bag on the floor as she undid all the zips and velcro of her jacket, trousers and boots revealing dark jeans, a loose-fitting cream tunic, and purple socks. Footsteps could be heard running along the landing above before Kit appeared at the top of the staircase holding Blake's iPad, which Kit used to play games on, and she rushed down the stairs.

"Yay! Yang's here!"

Yang and Blake grinned as Kit hugged Yang around her waist while Blake put away Yang's motorbike gear in the cloakroom under the stairs leaving her boots by the front door.

"Hey, Kit Kat," greeted Yang, returning the hug.

"What's in the bag?" Kit questioned, after wriggling out of Yang's arms and noticing the shopping bag on the floor.

"That," replied Yang, picking up the bag, "is tonight's dinner."

Blake led Yang down the hallway into the kitchen as Kit questioned if they could make cookies for their dessert. In the kitchen Yang placed the bag on the side pulling out rigatoni pasta, tomatoes, cheese, sweet corn, parsley and most importantly tuna.

"Oooh, you brought the good stuff," praised Blake, her mouth watering already.

Yang laughed. "Of course. No cheap tuna for you two. Do you mind if I can pop it in the fridge for now though?"

"Yeah, go ahead." Yang beamed and walked over to the fridge but before she opened it she stopped noticing the drawing Kit had done a few weeks ago which was now pinned to the front with alphabet magnets.

"Aww, is that us swimming?" She asked, happily. Kit rushed up to her side nodding her head.

"Yeah, do you like it?"

"I love it! Can I take a picture of it with my phone?" Yang asked, waiting for Kit's nod of approval before she pulled out her smart phone and snapped a picture. After Yang had put the tuna away, Kit scampered off to go play upstairs again leaving Blake and Yang to mosey on into the lounge and relax.

Blake sat down on the settee, curling her feet under her, as Yang flopped down beside her and leaned her arm casually across the back of the couch. Her fingertips nearly reached Blake's elbow where she had it prodded up with her hand resting under her chin.

"You wouldn't believe what happened at the shops before I got here," mentioned Yang, her gloveless metal hand running through her hair.

"Oh? What happened?" Asked Blake, shuffling closer towards Yang.

"So, I get there and it's pretty busy, so I park in one of the disabled slots which I don't usually do but I was rushing, and it was the only available spot around. Anyway, I go in, do my shopping and I come out and there's this woman standing by my bike, I'd say she's a few years older than us, and she starts shouting at me. ' _You shouldn't have parked there.' 'You're not disabled!' 'I saw you walk just fine.' 'Your disabled ticket is a fake. I know what they look like.'_ That kind of rubbish," told Yang, an amused glint in her eyes.

"Oh no, what did you do?" Blake groaned, shaking her head when Yang's lips quirked up.

"Well I put the shopping on the floor then I grabbed my arm, pretending that carrying my helmet was tiring me, and I said _'ma'am, could you lend me a hand? My arm is pretty tired from carrying this.'_ And I just let it drop onto the floor."

Yang paused her storytelling as Blake let out a laugh and she did too. "Her face was priceless. She leapt back and stumbled on her ridiculously high heeled shoes. Then she got this really miffed off look and carried on into the store. I called back to her saying _'I'm not that scary! I'm h'armless!'_ The trolley guy got a good laugh from it all."

"I can imagine," sighed Blake, finally able to breathe again. She wiped a tear of joy from the corner of her left eye. "I can't believe you did that, and of course you managed to make a pun from it all."

"It was pretty great," giggled Yang.

"I'm honestly a little surprised and proud of you that you took your arm off in public which isn't the swimming baths," said Blake, causing Yang to give her a soft smile.

"Me too, to be honest, but I've been thinking about what you told me at the park. How I shouldn't be bothered by what other people think and only those who I care about."

"What about the looks people give you? Weren't you bothered by that too?"

Yang shrugged half-heartedly. "I used to let it get me down, but I've decided to ignore the nasty looks I get and get on with my day. You've given me the confidence that not everyone will react negatively to it."

Blake blushed at the praise. She eyed Yang's hand resting idly on the settee and she wanted to put her hand on top of it so badly. However, Blake resisted not wanting to make a move without speaking to Yang about getting into a relationship first. They started talking about different things, the recent episode of the popular TV they were watching, the new book Blake was reading and her ability to speak French which Yang found captivating, and finally ended up talking a bit about their jobs.

"I was thinking the other day. Have you ever thought about comp-"

Blake cut off her sentence when she heard music start to play from out in the hallway.

 _~ There you see her_ _._ _Sitting there across the way_ _._ _She don't got a lot to say_ _._ _But there's something about her_ _._ _And you don't know why_ _._ _But you're dying to try_ _._ _You wanna kiss the girl. ~_

Yang looked at Blake with raised eyebrows but looked extremely amused as Blake hid her face in her hands. To have Sebastian serenading Yang for her was something she could have done without. Taking her hands away Blake glanced over at the doorway to see Kit quickly disappear out of sight with a little squeak.

"I'll be right back," muttered Blake, quickly getting up from her seat.

"Okay," chuckled Yang.

Blake hurried away, making sure to close the lounge door behind her, and she soon found Kit trying to escape upstairs with the iPad.

"Kit."

Like a deer caught in the headlights Kit froze at the top of the stairs and turned around with a guilty expression giving a nervous grin. Blake crossed her arms over her chest, arching an eyebrow, as Kit slowly stepped back down the steps. She stopped in front of Blake shifting from foot to foot and she glanced at the closed lounge door then looked up at Blake.

"Did it work?" She asked, hopeful.

Blake let out a sigh. She knew Kit had only been trying to help so she wasn't truly mad at her. Crouching down until she was eye level with her daughter Blake put her hands on Kit's upper arms.

"Your gesture was sweet Kit but with the situation I talked to you about earlier, you're going to have to let mommy and Yang figure it out together. Alright?"

Kit nodded her head with her lower lip jutting out. "I'm sorry."

Encircling her arms around her daughter Blake brought Kit in for a reassuring hug and Kit cuddled herself closer.

"It's okay," said Blake. "Your heart was in the right place."

There was a couple of knocks on the front door, so Blake stood up, dropping her arms from around Kit, and she turned around to answer it with Kit staying by her side. Pulling it open it revealed Kit's friend Sam from school, his older sister, and five other children from the neighbourhood holding skateboards or had roller-skates on their feet standing in the driveway.

"Hi Sam!" Kit greeted, grinning.

"Hi," he said to Kit with a shy little wave, before glancing up at Blake. "Miss Belladonna, can Kit come out and play?"

"Can I mum? Please?" Kit begged, tugging at Blake's arm.

Blake quickly glanced at the clock on the wall and saw it was five o'clock already then addressed Kit. "You can play for half an hour but stay on our street and off the road."

Kit let out a small cheer then sat down to put her shoes on and Blake spoke to Sam's older sister who appeared to be in her early teens.

"Can you make sure she's back in time?" She requested, and the girl nodded.

"Yeah, sure, my mom's told me to be back by quarter to six and keep an eye on Samalam."

"Janie, don't call me that," whined Sam, and Janie laughed then ruffled her brother's hair.

Kit finished tying up her laces and shot up off the floor rushing outside to play with her friends. Blake watched for a little bit, making sure they stayed in the street and on the pavement, as they sat on the skateboards and raced one another. Closing the door Blake walked back into the lounge only to find Yang had vanished but her ears soon picked up on cupboards opening and closing in the kitchen so she headed over there.

Upon entering Blake spotted Yang holding the bag of pasta and looking a little lost as she searched around the kitchen for whichever items she needed.

"Everything alright?" Blake asked, smiling. Yang jumped a little but quickly let out a small sigh of relief.

"Hey, yeah, I was hoping to make a start on dinner but I have no idea where anything is," she admitted with a laugh, rubbing the back of her neck. Chuckling to herself Blake moved to stand next to Yang where they met each other's gaze briefly before Blake crouched down in front of her and rummaged in the cupboard next to Yang's legs. She stood back up noticing a pink tinge to Yang's cheeks as she held up a saucepan and smiled.

"Is this what you're looking for?" She asked, and Yang blinked out of her stupor.

"Y-yeah," she answered, reaching for the pan but ended up covering Blake's hand with her own. They stared at one another and seeing the admiration in those lilac pools Blake realised that it wasn't just the saucepan Yang had been referring to. They lowered the pan to their side, keeping hold of their hands, and Yang's eyes flickered down to Blake's mouth and subconsciously bit her lower lip.

"So what," started Yang, returning her gaze to Blake's eyes. "What was all that about before?"

"Oh," said Blake, trying and failing to keep her heartbeat steady. A small smile pulled at her lips and she worked up the courage to admit the truth. "That was Kit's attempt at trying to get us together. I spoke to her earlier about things and well..." Blake's sentence dwindled off as she thought about what to say next.

Yang brought her metal hand up and gently caressed Blake's cheek as she lowered her head a little towards her. "Sounded to me like she's on board with us."

Blake nudged herself a little closer until their noses were just inches apart.

"She's not the only one," she murmured, closing her eyes.

A shrill ringing filled the silence breaking Yang and Blake apart like they had been shocked and Yang let out a small groan. Blake dipped her head to hide her blush as she let go of the pan and moved behind Yang to go answer the phone. She picked it up off the kitchen counter pressing the answer button and bringing it up to her ear.

"Hello?" She answered, turning around to watch Yang.

"Hello, is this Blake Belladonna?" A female voice replied, urgency laced in her voice.

"Yes, it is."

"Alright, hi Blake, my name is Paula and I'm ringing from Vale Police Department. We've been alerted that the tracking device on Mr Adam Taurus has moved into your area. We advise you to stay indoors and police are on their way-."

Panic filled her entire being and white noise fuzzed up Blake's ears as she dropped the phone with a clatter from the shakes that began to wreck her body and Yang quickly rushed over to her with concern.

"Blake? Blake, what's wrong?"

The doorbell rang then followed by a series of banging and shouts from numerous children. Blake's eyes widened.

"Kit."

Running down the hallway Blake swung open the door to see Sam at the front of the group with tears in his eyes while Janie clutched at her arm that was bleeding from a small slice on her bicep. Their mother, who Blake knew as Amber, was running up the driveway trying to catch up to the group of children much faster than her. Yang stopped at a sudden halt behind Blake and the two of them instantly noticed that Kit wasn't in the group.

"Sam," started Blake, her voice shaking as tears started building up in her eyes. "Sam, where's Kit? What happened?"

"S-some m-man ca-came up to us i-in his c-car," he choked out, tears of his own running down his cheeks.

"He stopped the car in front of us and grabbed Kit," said Janie, vastly upset herself. "I tried to stop him Miss Belladonna, I really did, but he had a knife and he cut me. He pushed Kit into the car and they drove-."

Blake didn't hear what else was said, her ears became muffled with white noise, as she fell to her knees letting out an anguished cry and nothing could stop the tears from falling.

* * *

 ***See's the approaching torches and pitchforks***

 **Welp! Time to hide under the bed covers!**

 **Don't forget to leave a review and let me know what you thought!**

 **Reeves3.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with RWBY.**

 **Author's Note: Thank you for the reviews, favourites and alerts for the previous chapter, and I'm glad not too many of you came after me with torches and pitchforks. :P** **I know you're all raring to read this chapter so I'll leave this short!**

 **Thank you to my good friend Callum for proof reading for me.**

 **I hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

 **Reeves3.**

* * *

 **Chapter Ten**

In the time it took for the police to arrive, Yang had managed to get Blake back inside the house and sitting on the settee where she started to hyperventilate. Yang ran into the kitchen forcing open the draws until she came across a paper bag then rushed back to Blake and handed it over to her. Amber moved past the group of children who were standing around with wide eyes and into the kitchen where Yang heard the kettle start to boil.

"Blake," said Yang, kneeling down to meet her gaze. Blake peered over the top of the bag with tear filled eyes. Her breathing was erratic and coming in and out with short bursts. "Blake, listen to me, alright? We'll find Kit, I promise you, but I need you to breathe properly because you're not going to help Kit passed out from a lack of oxygen. Breathe in with me, nice and slow...that's it, hold it...and out slowly."

Paying close attention to Yang's instructions Blake finished the end of her exhale then began another set of steady breathing. Through her blurry vision she could see how frightened Yang was too and that was enough to bring on another wave of tears as she leaned forward and cried into Yang's shoulder. Yang wrapped her arms around her rubbing her back in rhythmic soothing movements and holding her close.

"Excuse me? Is this the home of Miss Belladonna?"

Everyone turned their heads to look at the two police officers that were standing in the doorway. One was a heavily built bald middle-aged man whose nametag read 'Higgs' and the other was a brown haired woman of a similar age and a crooked nose with the nametag 'Smith'. Blake and Yang separated from their hug and Yang clenched her fists.

"It's about time you got here," she growled. "Where were you five minutes ago?!"

"What's going on? Did something happen? Did Mr Taurus come here?" Officer Higgs questioned, stepping further into the room.

"He t-took my d-daughter!" Blake explained with a cry, crushing the paper bag in her hands. "H-He came here and took her."

"It's true," said Amber, walking into the room. She held a steaming cup of sugary tea in her hands which she handed over to Blake. "I saw the whole thing from my living room window. He had a knife and he sliced at my daughter with it when she tried to stop him from taking Kit."

The police officer's eyes widened and the two of them looked at each other before Smith used the radio attached to her uniform to call in the report.

"Alright, can you give us a description of the man and did you see what kind of car he was driving? The colour of it? Licence plate?" Officer Higg's asked, looking around the group of children and three adults.

"He was a bull faunus with horns on his forehead," piped up Janie. "With brown and red hair, and he was tall." Higg's began writing the information down on a little notebook.

"The car was green," said one of the kids.

And another one spoke up soon after. "The licence plate started with T3RR."

After noting down all the information the police officers could get from the children, Officer Smith suggested they head back to their homes while Higg's called in more details to the officers at the station and who were out and about on patrol. Yang took Janie into the kitchen to clean and bandage her wound, having done numerous first aid training courses throughout her career, while Amber sat next to Blake with Sam on her lap to console him as he continued to cry quietly into his mother's shoulder. A short while later Yang and Janie joined them back in the lounge where Janie sat next to her mother and Yang next to Blake where she wrapped an arm around her as Blake leaned into her.

The two police officers eventually ventured back into the lounge after talking on their radio's in the hallway and came to stand in the centre of the room.

"We've got an undercover car following Mr Taurus right now. A helicopter is on route to give aerial support. However, we don't want to get too close right now and spook him and cause a high-speed chase," said Officer Smith. "Our records show Mr Taurus is dangerous and shouldn't be approach-"

"I told you that," muttered Blake, numbly. She raised her head off Yang's shoulder glaring at the officers in front of her.

"Blake?" Yang gently asked, concerned.

She ignored her as blind anger raged inside her like an inferno controlled by the fear pitted in her stomach.

"I told you that seven years ago!" She shouted, standing up. "I sat in court and gave you my evidence! That's where your records come from! But a few years down the line you forget all that and think because he does a good job in the prison and complies with the rules that makes him selectable for parole! He tried to kill me! He used a knife against a twelve-year-old! And now he's kidnapped my daughter!"

Blake let out a choked sob and Yang was standing by her side in an instant, and she let her tears fall onto the blonde as Yang circled her arms around her.

"She'll be okay, shussshh, I promise," soothed Yang, slowly swaying them both. Blake knew deep down that Yang couldn't promise such a thing but she wanted to believe more than anything that what Yang was saying would come true.

Officer Higg's coughed lightly to get their attention but the two women didn't let go of each other, choosing to turn their heads towards his direction instead.

"Ma'am," he started, his voice remorseful yet professional. "We're sorry this happened, but we'll do everything in our power to bring your daughter home safe and sound."

Blake nodded mutely, her anger still burning but slightly simmered, and she curled back into Yang's embrace with her cat ears low against her head. The radios beeped, Officer Smith answered it by pressing the button at the side. A man's voice crackled through the speaker.

" _Suspect is now speeding. He's realised we're tailing him. Calling for back up. Suspect is southbound heading along Palmer Street."_

The news unleashed a tornado of anxiety in her stomach, making her nauseous, and Blake prayed that Adam wouldn't lose control of the car or have someone crash into it. A few more radio calls came through from other officers saying they were coming to help with the chase and try to cut him off. As they waited for more news to arrive Blake moved away from Yang's arms and began to pace around the room wishing she could be out driving in her car chasing down Adam too.

They waited for over an hour. Darkness had fully descended outside with only a faint orange glow emitting from the streetlights along the roadside. Amber had taken Sam and Janie back to prepare dinner but asked Blake and Yang to keep in touch if anything happened. Radio messages had continuously been sent back and forth and from what Blake and Yang could overhear it sounded like Adam was giving the police the run around and dodging every attempt to corner him. The last message through had been to say Adam was making his way towards Beacon Bridge, heading out of Vale.

The police had been talking with one another in the hallway while Yang continued to comfort Blake in the lounge when they re-entered with news.

"They set up a roadblock on the bridge cutting Mr Taurus off half way," started Officer Smith. Blake sat up straighter hoping they had managed to get Kit away from him, but her shoulders slumped hearing the next piece of news. "But he's holding your daughter hostage and won't let her go until he gets to speak to you Miss Belladonna."

"I'll do it," replied Blake, immediately. She didn't care if she had vowed never to see Adam again or that the mere sight of him would strike fear into her heart; she would do whatever it takes to get Kit back in her arms.

She stood up with Yang and they rushed to put on their shoes and each grabbed a jacket to ward off the chilly night air. They followed the officers into the police car where Blake and Yang sat in the backseat. Blake reached for the blonde's hand and Yang turned towards her, giving a small reassuring smile, as the car started to move.

"It'll be alright," she said, and Blake squeezed her hand, silently praying it would be.

It took forty agonisingly long minutes to arrive at the bridge and as they drew closer Blake could see a line of flashing red and blue lights along the width of it. A helicopter with a spotlight attached to the bottom of it shone down from above. They joined the end of a line of backed up traffic that was slowly being diverted by a couple of police officers a safe distance away from the mad man with a blade. Driving up to the officers in charge of the traffic, they directed them over to the line of police cars where Officer Higg's parked the car behind them and the four of them got out.

With the helicopter flying lower than usual the constant spinning of the blades deafened Blake slightly as did the roaring of the rushing river below the bridge. Numerous police officers were standing and couching behind the cars aiming their guns towards the wrecked car smashed into the barrier wall on the right side of the bridge. Blake barely paid any notice to the vehicle however because her attention was instantly taken by the sight of Adam, standing next to the wall, as he held the sharp steel blade of his knife against his captive's throat.

"KIT!"

Everyone turned to watch as Blake pushed past the officers in front of her and into the spotlight with Adam and Kit.

"MOM!" Kit cried out, struggling against Adam's strong grasp on her arm twisted around her back. Blake could see blood trickling down from the top of Kit's forehead, under her hair, but whether that was from the car crash or Adam's knife Blake wasn't sure. Either way the sight of it unleashed the panther inside Blake who wanted nothing more than to protect her cub.

"Blake, my love, you're finally here," charmed Adam, as though this was a date not a hostage situation. Her ears flattened harshly against her skull as she glared daggers at the man she once thought she loved.

"Adam," she called, through gritted teeth. The nerves she had built up were squandered by the panther's paws as it clawed to the surface.

"It's been a long time, my love," said Adam, his red eyes meeting hers. "I've missed you so much."

A shudder ran through her body as memories of him touching her flashed through her mind. Blake had to quell the rising sickness in the back of her throat.

"Give Kit to me now," she ordered, ignoring his words completely.

Adam let out a dark chuckle. "And why would I do that? She's as much as mine as she is yours."

Blake opened her mouth to argue but Adam stepped forward slightly and Kit let out a whimper as the blade pressed closer against her skin.

"We can start over Blake. Just us, together again, like before, when you were mine. I'll treat you right this time, I'll treat you better, and we can start a family. "

"Kit is my family," said Blake, carefully. It was clear to her that Adam had lost his mind; he was obsessed and deluded to the point of insanity.

"No," growled Adam, frustrated as he stomped a foot on the ground. "Us. We are a family. WE CAN START OVER. Just the two of us. We only need to erase the memories from our previous time together."

He backed closer to the wall bringing Kit with him, the knife coming dangerously close to sliding along her neck as he moved her. The police aimed their guns to track his movements and Blake took a cautious step closer as Kit reached her hand out for her.

"Adam, please, I'm begging you, don't hurt her," stressed Blake, never wanting to see that look of fear in Kit's eyes ever again.

The bull faunus shook his head at her slowly. "Oh Blake, oh sweet, simple minded Blake. I'm not going to hurt her... I'm just going to get rid of her."

And as quick as he had said it Adam picked Kit up by the waist and tossed her over the side of the bridge.

"NO!"

Blake surged forward to get to the wall, as Kit's shriek vanished with a loud splash, but Adam grabbed her before she could look over the edge.

"KIT!" She screamed, fighting against Adam's hold as he tried to pull her into his arms. A yellow blur ran past her and Blake watched as Yang threw her jacket to the floor, stepped up onto the wall, and dived into the dark depths fifteen feet below them all.

"YANG!" Blake shouted, struggling to get Adam to release her. Realising she wasn't going to escape him like this, she twisted around to face him and reared her arm back. She clenched her hand into a tight fist and put as much strength as she could into her punch. Her knuckles clocked him in the jaw and she heard a crack from one of her fingers as a sharp pain shot through it as he let go of her.

The police began rushing towards them now that Adam had no leverage, and upon noticing he was about to be surrounded Adam took off down the road. Blake ran in the opposite direction, a gunshot going off behind her made her jump, but she kept on running until she reached the end of the bridge where stairs led down to the riverbank. She nearly tripped and fell a couple of times as she rushed down them frantically keeping her gaze on the river.

The helicopter had moved its beam of light onto the gushing water providing light for everyone to see but so far Blake had yet to see any sign of Yang or Kit. When she arrived at the bottom of the steps she began walking fast paced along down the river and away from the bridge her eyes scanning through the darkness, where the light didn't shine, frantically searching for any sign of them.

A minute went by and with each ticking second the anxiety in her stomach rose to new heights.

Then up ahead she spotted Yang surfacing, several meters away from the bank, and as Blake ran to get closer she spotted Kit on her back.

"Yang! Over here!" She yelled, hoping the blonde would hear her.

Whether Yang heard her or not she began swimming with one arm in Blake's general direction, but it was clear she was struggling against the currant as she drifted further down the river. The helicopter had managed to locate them again and was keeping a constant beam on the two of them. Blake spotted an orange and white life ring resting on a metal pole, so she ran up to it and took it off the stand. She wrapped the rope around her uninjured hand and just about managed to throw the ring out with the other. It landed not too far from Yang and with a few focused powerful stokes she grabbed hold of the ring.

Blake waited until Yang had securely wrapped her arm through it before she began to pull them closer with all her might. The rope circled by her feet and Yang helped out by continuing to kick her legs to get closer to the edge. Finally, Yang's hand slapped down onto the cemented path securing them to the side and Blake dropped down in front of her letting go of the rope.

She reached for Kit and got her hands under her arms and lifted her up from Yang's back and crushed her in a bone breaking hug.

"I've got you, Kit. You're safe now," she murmured, pressing a firm kiss to the top of Kit's head.

With one arm Yang hoisted herself up and sat herself on the edge and Blake noticed her mechanical arm was twisting in random movements beyond her control. With her real hand Yang twisted the fake arm at the joint where metal met flesh until it came off with a click. A frown turned Blake's brows down when she noticed something wasn't quite right; Kit wasn't hugging her back.

Blake pulled Kit away from her cupping her daughter's face in her hands and saw the peaceful expression on her daughters face as though she was sleeping. Her eyes were shut and her mouth was slightly parted while the blood from her forehead from before, having been washed away, was now starting to run down again. Shaking her head Blake quickly leaned down and pressed her ear to Kit's chest.

"Y-Yang, she's n-not breathing," she alerted, looking at the blonde panic stricken.

Dropping her arm Yang scrambled to Kit's side as Blake lay her down in front of her and placed her two fingers on Kit's pulse point on her neck.

"I can't feel her pulse," said Yang, measuring with her fingers where she needed to do compressions on Kit's chest. "Blake, give me your hand."

Blake let her hand be taken by Yang and she positioned it under her own and felt Yang's fingers thread in-between hers. With Yang's guidance they began to pump their hands down on Kit's chest and did thirty of them before Yang stopped them and checked to see if Kit was breathing.

"Blake, position your hands like ours were before. When I say so, start pressing," instructed Yang, her voice urgent and cracking slightly. Nodding her head Blake placed her hands on Kit's chest, ignoring her broken finger, and watched as Yang tilted Kit's head back, pinched her nose tight and passed two quick breaths into her.

"Ok, Blake, go. Thirty of them."

Her whole body shook as she did the thirty compressions and when she was finished there was still no sign of movement from Kit.

"Please sweetheart, please breathe," whispered Blake, begging Kit to hear her. Yang did another two breaths and Blake did another thirty presses but there was no change. Blake noticed through her blurred vision that there were tears mixing in with the river water on Yang's face when she sat back up from giving Kit another two breaths.

"Come on Kit Kat," encouraged Yang, wiping the bottom of her nose.

Blake pressed down on Kit's chest again.

 _One..._

 _Two..._

 _Three..._

Kit let out a gasp, followed immediately with water being coughed up. Relief washed over the two adults and Yang shuffled backwards to let Kit get some air.

"Take deep breaths, Kit, get all the air in," said Yang, helping Kit lift her head so she could spit out more water.

"Mom," she croaked out, reaching for Blake.

Crawling closer Blake took Kit's hand in hers and ran another through her wet hair. "I'm right here, sweetheart. You're okay now. Everything is going to be alright," she promised. Kit blearily blinked up at her and nodded her head before opening her arms up for a hug and Blake carefully sat Kit in her lap to hug her. Yang moved to give them some privacy, but Blake noticed it and reached her hand out to take Yang's hand in her own. Their eyes met, and Yang gave a watery smile before shuffling closer wrapping her arm around them both from behind Kit.

The three of them stayed encircled in each other's arms oblivious to the police officers rushing towards them calling for ambulances.

* * *

 **Of course I wasn't going to let anything too bad happen to Kit, she's too precious.**

 **I was surprised to see lots of reviewers asking for Yang to beat the crap out of Adam but I planned from the start that this is Blake's fight, she gets to hit him, she gets to knock him down and prove to herself that she can be strong and stand up to him. (But I really do what Blake and Yang to beat the hell out of Adam in the show.)**

 **Also, here's some things I wanted to say about Adam but I don't think I did a good job of conveying that in the story but here goes. I wrote him in this to be obsessed with Blake - he doesn't have world domination on his mind in this real world AU so all that mind space is taken up by his desires/control of Blake. Like Blake figures out, Adam has lost his mind, and it's even implied in RWBY that Adam is starting to lose control. So I just built off that and gave him a more stalker, obsessive, psychotic personality. His line 'I missed you so much' well, think of GLa-DOS. And yeah, that's what I wanted to say about Adam.**

 **And fun fact - the full licence plate was going to be T3RR 0R1. :P**

 **I hope you all enjoyed this chapter though and don't forget to leave a review!**

 **Reeves3.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with RWBY.**

 **Author's Note: Hello everyone! Thank you for all your wonderful reviews for the previous chapter! I've been a bit down this past week but reading such lovely reviews always makes me smile. :D**

 **Thank you to my good friend Callum for proof reading this chapter and for bsl on (and beeessl on tumblr) for editing it! You should check out bsl's fanfics btw if you haven't already, especially if you love Bumbleby, because they are fabulous!**

 **There's one more chapter to go after this** **one BUT and I have mentioned it to a few people already, that there might be a bonus chapter after the epilogue (Chapter 12) but I haven't made much progress on it so when/if it appears online will be a mystery for now.**

 **So final chapter is coming next Friday! In the meantime though I hope you all have a wonderful holiday and get lots of awesome things!**

 **Enjoy the chapter,**

 **Reeves3.**

* * *

 **Chapter Eleven**

The back of the ambulance doors slammed shut and the sirens started to wail as the vehicle pulled away. Yang stood towards the back of the van, wrapped in a thermal blanket, clutching her broken prosthetic and staying out of the way. Blake stood over by Kit and held her hand as the paramedic began to do her job. Down by the river bank the two paramedics had carefully slid Kit onto a trauma board and strapped her to it before carrying her back to the ambulance waiting on the bridge.

The EMT currently with them in the back had quickly introduced herself as Emma. She was very friendly and constantly trying to keep Kit amused so she wouldn't start to panic. She had spoken to Blake, asking for general information about Kit and what had transpired on the bridge.

"Does Kit have any medical history we should know about? Any allergies or medication she's on?" Emma asked, cutting up along Kit's shirt.

"No, nothing," answered Blake. She winced at the patches of bruising emerging from behind the shredded fabric. It only became more obvious as Emma pulled the shirt away and shoved it into a bag before beginning to cut up Kit's pants. "She's not on any medication either."

Emma nodded her head and once the pants were placed in the bag she placed an oxygen mask over Kit's mouth and nose.

"This will help with your breathing, alright? You'll sound a bit like Darth Vader," she said, smiling down at Kit, who nodded slightly. Kit gave Blake's hand a squeeze and Blake smiled down at Kit as well.

"You're going to be just fine," she reassured. Emma began checking over Kit's body for any other wounds, broken bones or abnormalities, and continuously asked if anything felt painful to Kit. Afterwards she attached a blood pressure monitor to Kit's arm and took note of the recordings on a clipboard then placed the thermal blanket back over Kit.

"You almost look like a baked potato wrapped up like that," joked Emma, tucking the sides in gently around Kit's body.

Kit started to snicker but ended up coughing roughly and Blake soothed her by rubbing one of Kit's cat ears with her thumb.

It only took a few more minutes to arrive at the hospital and the moment the ambulance stopped the van doors were opened from the outside. Blake and Yang got out first to get out of the way as hospital staff, along with Emma, carefully unloaded Kit from the van and wheeled her on the stretcher inside to the accident and emergency unit.

It was pretty busy inside the ER as doctors and nurses rushed about treating their patients. There were only two beds currently occupied by other people. An elderly lady lay in one with a twisted ankle and in the bed next to hers sat a drunken young man with a bleeding hand while his girlfriend stood by hiding her face in her palms. There was a strong smell of cleanliness in the air, an over wash of disinfectant so strong that it was almost nauseating. Blake followed the staff moving Kit until they stopped by one of the empty beds, more nurses and doctors quickly gathering around.

"Patient is Kit Belladonna, aged seven, airway is self maintained, breathing by natural air entry but quiet in the bases, query aspiration. We found a lesion to her forehead and bruising along the chest," informed Emma.

She completed the handover and they unstrapped Kit from the board before carefully transferring her onto the bed. A man several years older than Blake and Yang with fading brown hair began checking the readings on the monitor attached to Kit.

He smiled at Kit. "Hello Kit, I'm Doctor Morgan. I'm going to check your breathing, okay?"

Blake and Yang stood nearby to avoid getting in the way of the hospital staff fussing over Kit and when Dr Morgan was finished with checking over Kit he introduced himself to the pair of them and vice versa.

"We're going to take her in for a CT scan which should take around half an hour. I'll ask one of the nurses to get you a change of clothes for you Yang and we'll take you to get your hand x-rayed Blake," he said. Blake's eyes widened and she lifted her right hand up realising Dr Morgan had noticed her swollen middle finger.

"Hey, what happened?" Yang asked, softly, raising her hand to gently see Blake's broken finger.

"I punched Adam after you jumped in," admitted Blake, and Yang raised her eyebrows at her seemingly impressed.

The nurses began to move Kit but they stopped the bed in front of Blake so she could run her hand from Kit's forehead to her cheek.

"Are you coming with me?" Kit asked, her hands coming up to hold onto Blake's arm while her eyes began tearing up.

Blake shook her head slowly. "I can't come with you sweetheart, but you'll be okay. The doctors and nurses will take care of you, it won't take long."

Kit pouted under her mask but she let go of Blake's arm and raised her arms up for a hug and Blake leaned down to return the gesture.

"I love you so much. I'll see you soon," promised Blake, pressing a kiss to the side of Kit's head. She felt Kit nod her head into her shoulder and Blake pulled away waving with her good hand as they wheeled Kit out the unit. A nurse walked up to Blake.

"Let's take you to get that finger x-rayed, shall we?" She suggested, with a bright preppy grin that seemed too cheerful for what they had been through tonight.

Blake glanced over at Yang who smiled reassuringly at her. "I'll go sit in the waiting room. Meet you there after your x-ray?"

With a brief nod Blake followed the nurse to the x-ray department turning around to watch Yang walk back from where they had entered towards the waiting room. The nurse handed her over to the x-ray technician once they arrived and Blake was led into an open room with a table and a large machine rigged over it. Blake followed along with the instructions given to her, not really paying too much attention; her mind was filled with thoughts of her daughter, of what did happen and what could have been, worst case scenarios interweaving with the facts in her mind until they made very little sense. Still she sat by the table on the hard wooden chair and positioned her hand under the machine, moving it slightly when she was asked to.

When the machine had finished taking the scans Blake was asked to wait in the seating area outside the room while the images were printed. She sat staring around the room at the few other patients waiting before her until all of them had been called in and only she remained. She was called up after a lifetime, though really it had only been twenty minutes, and led into a small room where the x-ray's of her hand were lit up on the light board on the wall.

The male nurse pointed out that she had a stable fracture on her middle finger before splinting it to her ring finger. When he had finished Blake stood up and thanked him before she made her way back to the main waiting room where she knew Yang would be. Upon entering the spacious room filled with numerous cushioned chairs, Blake's eyes were instantly drawn to the dripping blonde mane of curls sat in the centre of the room. Yang glanced up from the out of date magazine she had been reading and grinned brightly as Blake made her way over to her.

"Hey, hasn't anyone given you a change of clothes yet?" Blake asked, noticing Yang was still wearing her drenched clothing. Her arm lay in her lap as her hand kept a secure hold of the blanket around her neck. Yang put the magazine back on the pile next to her and shook her head as Blake sat down next to her.

"Nah, it's ok. They're busy doing other things," she dismissed.

Blake squinted her eyes at her. "If you get hypothermia... "

Yang let go of the blanket and put her hand over Blake's. "I won't. My body tends to warm up pretty quick anyway. How's the finger?"

Extending her other hand out in Yang's line of sight Blake explained what the nurse had told her. "They found a small fracture below the knuckle of my middle finger. It should take about four to six weeks to heal."

"No swearing for you for a while then," mused Yang.

"I still have my other hand," said Blake, tightly gripping Yang's hand, and she let out a little laugh. Blake's eyes scanned around the room at all the anxiously waiting people noticing doctors were talking to a couple of them. "Has Doctor Morgan come back through yet?"

Yang shook her head. "Not yet. I'm sure Kit's doing just fine, she's strong and brave, just like her Mom."

Blake's eyes shone and she leaned her head on Yang's shoulder and she placed her head atop of Blake's being mindful not to press on her ears. They sat there in that position for ten minutes in a peaceful silence, their minds trying to process all that had happened, occasionally glancing up each time the doors opened hoping to see Dr Morgan.

The person that entered the room next, although unfortunately wasn't Kit's doctor, still caused Yang and Blake to sit up in their seats. It was Officer Smith; she instantly spotted the black and yellow pair and made a beeline for them. In her hands she carried Yang's jacket that she had hastily thrown before diving into the water.

"Evening," she greeted, briefly to the two of them. She handed over the jacket and Yang checked the pockets, happy to find her phone and keys were still there. Officer Smith then turned her full attention to Blake. "Miss Belladonna, is it possible to speak with you privately for a moment?"

Yang and Blake shared a fleeting look.

"I'll wait here," said Yang, gesturing to her seat, but Blake shook her head.

"No, I want you with me," she said, looking back over at Officer Smith. "Is that alright?"

Officer Smith gave a short curt nod and the three of them headed towards the back of the room where there were three small rooms, each containing little more than a few chairs, a table, and a phone. They each sat down on one of the seats, and Blake realised this was probably where the worst kind of information was broken to people waiting for news about their loved ones.

Clearing her throat slightly Officer Smith began to speak. "I'm here to inform you that after Mr Taurus let you go Miss Belladonna, he attempted to flee but didn't get far before one of our officers managed to grab him. Unfortunately Mr Taurus struggled and stabbed the officer in the shoulder. He was about to stab him again when another officer fatally shot Mr Taurus in the chest."

Blake could have heard a feather land it was that silent in the room. "H-He's-"

"He's dead, yes," confirmed Officer Smith.

There was no remorse or sadness; instead a sense of peace washed over her as though the dark clouds labelled 'Adam' had been cleared by the sunlight shining through. She no longer had to worry about him coming after her, ruining her life, and hurting her or Kit. They were free from the shackles of that monster.

"I, uh, thank you. For telling me," Blake finally replied, a little bit stunned.

"Just doing my duty. Will the little one be alright?" Officer Smith asked, standing up.

"Hopefully, we're waiting back on news from her CT scan," said Blake, rubbing her hands together anxiously.

"All the best for her then. Take care," she said, leaving the room and closing the door shut behind her. Neither of them said anything for a few minutes until finally Yang spoke up.

"How're you feeling?"

Blake slowly leaned back on the chair staring at Yang who was closely watching her.

"I'm shocked honestly, but I'm also just so relieved... I don't have to live in fear anymore."

Her lip quivered and Yang pulled her into a hug as the first tear began to fall. She wasn't sure if she was crying from relief, stress from tonight, or worry over Kit, or maybe all three but Yang's gentle words and soothing tones helped her let it all out until her racking sobs had softened to gentle hiccups and sniffles. Blake graciously accepted a tissue Yang offered her from the box on the centre of the table and blew her nose into it.

"I really should call my parents and let them know what's happened," said Blake. Yang nodded as Blake brought the phone closer to her and began dialling the number for her parents. "Let's hope they accept calls going to Menagerie."

After a few rings the cheery voice of Kali Belladonna appeared at the other end of the line.

"Hello, Kali speaking, who's calling?"

"Mom, it's me," replied Blake.

"Oh Blake! What number are you calling from? I didn't recognise it."

"No, you wouldn't, it's the hospitals."

Instantly Kali's cheerfulness evaporated into concern.

"What is it? What's wrong? Is everything alright? What's happened?"

With a big sigh and Yang's hand rubbing reassuringly up and down along her back Blake started from the beginning when Kit went outside to play up until now. A lot of words spilled out from Kali's mouth that Blake had never heard her mother use before as she was telling her what happened and by the time she had finished Kali was shouting at Ghira to get their suitcases out from the attic. The door to their little room opened up and Blake's eyes widened.

"Mom, I've got to go, the Doctor just got back. I'll see you later," said Blake, rushing to hang up the phone.

"Alright my baby girl, give Kit some kisses from Nanna and Grandpa."

Blake said her goodbyes and put the phone down before standing up with Yang to face Dr Morgan and a nurse who was holding some dry clothes for Yang.

"How's Kit?" Blake asked, immediately.

Dr Morgan quickly put her heart at ease. "She's fine. We've got the results from her CT scan. There's a bit of water in her lungs still so she's now in ITU state-side and has a non-invasive oxygen mask on. Basically that will help support her lungs and breathing as we wait for the water to naturally aspirate." Blake nodded her head as she listened to every word the doctor said. "We'll be monitoring her for a few days as we want to keep an eye out in case any infections arise from the river water but she should make a full recovery. She's certainly a figh-"

"Survivor," answered Blake and Yang, simultaneously. They glanced at each other smiling. Dr Morgan raised his eyebrows and let out a little cough regaining their attention.

"Yes, well you can go and see her now. Nurse May here will show you the way."

Nurse May passed the clothes over to Yang and the four of them left the room. Once they exited out of the waiting room Dr Morgan turned off down a busy hallway while the nurse led Blake and Yang to the intensive care unit. She stopped them at the door to the ward that Kit was on before going back to her duties.

"I'll quickly go change," said Yang, nodding down at the clothes in her hands.

"Alright," answered Blake. Yang began walking down the corridor towards the bathroom and Blake opened the door to the ward then stepped inside. It was a large room filled with several beds, some of which had curtains drawn around, and there was a constant beeping noises from the monitors as nurses did their rounds and checked the clipboards at the end of each bed. Blake moved down the length of the room checking each bed that wasn't cloaked with curtains and finally came across Kit towards the end of the room.

She was perched up slightly against a thick white pillow with a large mask covering her mouth and nose that was hooked up to the ventilator beside her. The bedside monitor showed the readings of her blood pressure, heart rate and oxygen levels. Her hair had been dried and the cut on her forehead had been stitched up, her face cleaned of any remaining blood in the process. The second she saw Blake her eyes lit up and Blake rushed towards her.

"Mommy!" She called out, her voice muffled, while raising up her arms. Blake fell into them and hugged her daughter careful not to press onto her too hard.

"Hi sweetheart," breathed Blake, trying not to tear up again.

"I love you," said Kit, squeezing Blake tightly around her neck.

"Mommy loves you too, baby. So, so much," said Blake, beginning to place numerous kisses anywhere on Kit's face that wasn't covered by her mask. She pulled away after a little bit and sat down on one of the chairs beside Kit's bed, leaning in close to hear her daughter clearly.

"What happened to your finger?" Kit asked, seeing Blake's bandaged fingers resting on the bed.

"I broke one of them but I'm okay. How're you feeling?"

"A bit tired, my chest hurts," admitted Kit, staring downcast at her blanket covered body that was still being warmed up.

"It will for a bit but the doctors and nurses will help you feel better," explained Blake, and Kit nodded. She went quiet for a moment as her small fingers fiddled with the sheets and her eyes darted back and forth to Blake.

Reaching out Blake held Kit's hand in her own."What is it, sweetheart?"

"What...what happened to him?"

Blake bit her lip, unsure whether to tell the whole truth before ultimately deciding not to. "The police took care of him. I'll tell you more when you're feeling better, but we don't have to worry about him coming after us anymore."

Kit nodded her head, accepting that answer and unwilling to pry for more. Their attention was drawn to Yang's sudden arrival and the pair of them had to stop themselves from laughing. The outfit the nurse had gave Yang was at least two sizes too small and was a blue and white striped pyjama set. Yang noticed them holding back their giggles and caused them to bring them out full force by walked the rest of the way to Kit's bed pretending to be on a catwalk and did a spin, the empty sleeve swinging wildly and smacking her in the face, before sitting down in the chair on the other side of Kit's bed.

"Good job it hasn't got a butt flap," she added, grinning.

Kit's laughter ended up in hacking coughs but the nearby nurses didn't seem too bothered by it and eventually Kit settled back down amongst the pillows. Blake ran her fingers through Kit's hair and Yang put down her arm and bag of wet clothes by her feet before pulling out three Kit-Kats from her trouser pockets.

"I got these from the vending machine as I figured you two might be hungry as well. It's no tuna pasta bake but Kit-Kats are pretty awesome."

Yang nudged Kit's cheek with her knuckle and she beamed happily up at her teacher. After quickly checking with the nurse if it was alright for Kit to take the mask off to eat, they got the all clear that she could take it off for brief intervals, and the three of them snacked on the tasty chocolate bars. When they were done Kit put her mask back on and Yang threw the wrappers away in the nearby trash-can before the three of them started playing games, such as I Spy, I Went To Market, and Two Truths and a Lie for an hour. Blake and Yang had to smile to themselves as they watched Kit slowly drift off to sleep while trying to guess something that began with 'R' inside the ward.

They sat there, basking in the silence and relief that Kit was going to be okay, until Yang pushed her chair back gently then stuffed her arm in the bag of clothes and picked it up.

"I better head off. I've got to get the water out of my arm or it's going to rust and I'll need to ask Ruby to take a look at it and sort out the wiring. Will you be alright on your own? I can come back later if you want me to."

Blake shook her head. "No, it's fine, you should go home and get some rest. I'm going to stay here with Kit all night until my parents get here in the morning, then I'll get a taxi home."

"Alright, I'll go over to Amber's as well and let her know what's happened. She'll probably want an update. Is it okay if I come visit Kit tomorrow?" Yang asked, glancing down at Kit.

"Of course you can," smiled Blake. "You can come over to mine if you like and we can go together."

"Sounds like a plan. Text me when you want me round," she whispered. Yang gave a little wave goodbye and began to walk away but she didn't get far when Blake called out to her.

"Yang, wait!" Blake quietly got up from her seat and moved around Kit's bed until she came face to face with Yang. Together the pair of them stood a bit off from the end of Kit's bed and Blake realised that there were no nurses around and all the other patients had drawn their curtains around their beds to go to sleep.

There was something extremely important that Blake had to say.

"Thank you."

Yang's eyes widened and she gave a little shrug, trying to brush off the praise.

"Ah, don't mention it-" she began, but was quickly cut off.

"No, really, thank you for everything," emphasised Blake. She needed to let her know that it wasn't just for tonight but for the swimming lessons, earning her trust, becoming her friend, giving her the time she needed to think, and being there for her and Kit.

With the loving smile Yang gave her, Blake knew everything she had wanted to say had been conveyed in the importance of her tone and the love she radiated. Smiling too Blake stepped closer into Yang's personal space and it appeared Yang didn't mind one bit as she leaned in even closer. For a moment they searched each other's eyes for permission before Blake gave the briefest nod of consent and their lips connected.

Yang dropped her bag moving her hand to cup the back of Blake's neck and deepening their kiss as the tiny hairs along Blake's body rose up as her body shivered with delight. Her own hands rested upon Yang's hips as her fingers delicately grazed across the soft skin that wasn't covered by the outlandishly short pyjama top. They shared a long sweet kiss, each enjoying and exploring their partner's lips appreciating things that they'd had barely a moment to register during their first kiss.

"~Mommy and Yang sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love...~"

Blake could feel Yang's smile against her lips seconds before pulling away from each other and the two of them turned back to look at Kit. She had obviously woken up when Blake had moved away and she giggled at the pair of blushing adults.

"Not all our kisses will be interrupted, will they?" Yang asked, jokingly. Blake turned back to look at her.

"This next one won't be."

She brought her lips to Yang's again who happily returned the kiss as Kit let out a little squeak and covered her head with her blankets.

* * *

 **Kit too cute. :P AND HUZZAR FOR BEES!**

 **I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and don't forget to leave a review! :D**

 **Reeves3.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with RWBY.**

 **Author's Note: It's certainly been an incredible twelve weeks getting to read everyone's reactions to this story. I'm so elated so many people enjoyed reading it, I had a lot of fun writing it, and I wish it didn't have to end too. Don't be sad about it ending though, be happy you got to experience it. :) Plus there might be a bonus chapter in the future (not next week but anytime in the future) so you can keep an eye out for that and I have been thinking about a possible sequel but whether that happens yet, I don't know.**

 **Thank you to my good friend Callum for proof reading for me, and to bsl for editing the chapter too! Without both of your help this story would be filled with a lot more of my Dyslexia mistakes and grammar errors.**

 **Also shout-out to kisaramix on tumblr for their awesome drawing of Kit and bonus pictures from this fanfic! Be sure to check out their tumblr and have a browse at their art! :D**

 **Here's hoping we get our Team RWBY (and BEES) reunion coming soon in the new episode of RWBY tomorrow! So excited! For now though, you wonderful, amazing readers, enjoy the final chapter of Swimming Lessons, and thank you! 3**

 **Reeves3.**

* * *

 **Chapter Twelve**

 **Six Years Later**

Menagerie was known for their warm winters. It was a frequent destination for those wishing to spend their Christmas vacation away from the winter weather, but the island paradise was even more well-known for its scorching summers. Hundreds usually swarmed to the white beaches, clear blue ocean, thriving greenery and plant life. Yet this year half an million arrived only to ignore the beaches and instead gather inside the newly built Olympic stadium.

The participants for the Olympics had already won their medals but now it was time for the Paralympic athletes to win their bronze, silver, and gold. The Olympic grounds contained the stadium where the opening ceremony had taken place, and where the track and field stars would make history. There were also several indoor and outdoor arena's where numerous sports would take place, and finally the Olympic village where the athlete's could stay.

In one of the arenas thousands had assembled and filled up every seat in the stands while up in the commentator's booth Sue Scott and Harvey Chapman faced the TV camera, that was broadcasting worldwide to millions of viewers.

"Welcome back to the Paralympics," greeted Sue, with a large smile. "Up next we have the women's swimming events. There's a lot of excitement in the air as much attention is on Yang Xiao Long for Patch, hoping to take gold in the one hundred meter backstroke and four hundred meter freestyle. Harvey, let's talk a bit about Yang, shall we?"

Harvey's shiny white teeth glinted as he smiled charmingly. "Yes, she's the only female swimmer representing Patch, a small island off the coast of Vale, and is well known for her record breaking qualification times. In an interview earlier today she mentioned how she wouldn't be here if her wife hadn't talked her into it. I believe you can see all her family down there supporting her."

The camera cut to a large crowd, some people sitting while others were standing waving around flags of their nation. The shot panned down towards a group sitting along the front row. Taiyang Xiao Long was standing tall wearing a t-shirt with Yang's face on it along with the words 'GOING FOR GOLD' . Beside him were Ghira and Kali Belladonna, holding up posters with the same image from Taiyang's top while they chatted to one another. At the other end of the group sat Weiss and Ruby with their three year old twins sitting in their laps as they snacked on popcorn. Blake Belladonna Xiao Long sat in-between the all with her thirteen year old daughter at her side. One of her hands ran circles over her extended belly as she laughed at whatever joke Kit had just finished telling.

The camera cut back to Sue and Harvey as they turned away from the glass window behind them.

"A wonderful family, and she's rallied a lot of fans from all over the world too," commented Harvey.

Sue nodded. "She has indeed, but we'll have to talk about that later because it looks like the one hundred meter backstroke is about to start, so let's head down to the pool..."

{-}

Yang let out a deep shuddering breath, expelling the built up nerves in her stomach, as she stepped out of the tunnel and into the arena. Her body was covered by a tracksuit, littered with sponsor logos, and the right arm of it swung uselessly at her side. Her hair was completely encased in a swimming cap and her bright yellow goggles rested on top of her forehead. In her hand she carried a fluffy white towel.

Cheers escalated in volume and cameras flashed repeatedly in the stands as a cameraman tracked Yang's movements with the handheld monitor he was carrying by Yang's side. Yang flashed a grin straight down the barrel of it and he gave her a thumbs up before stopping to go and film the next swimmer to walk out. Coming to a stop at her lane Yang put down her towel and began to remove the tracksuit from her body revealing a simple black swimsuit with the Olympic logo over her left breast.

"GO YANG!"

Raising her head towards the sound of her father's voice, Yang beamed broadly as she spotted her family waving from the edge of the stands. From their position they had a perfect side view of the entire fifty meter pool. Yang waved back and for a brief second she met Blake's gaze. Seeing the pride and love directed towards her, sent the last of Yang's jitters away.

Yang did a couple of muscle loosening exercises while the remaining seven swimmers walked out from the changing room and to their pool lane. Once all of the competitors were ready, they dropped into the water and turned their back to the rest of the pool, and Yang slipped her goggles over her eyes before gripping the edge with one hand. Silence fell upon the crowd, except for an occasional cheer, as everyone waited for the signal to start.

A loud buzzer echoed throughout the arena.

The moment it went off Yang pushed herself back fully into the water, just barely hearing the audience erupt into screams of joy and applause before her ears were submerged in the water. With strong, powerful kicks she propelled herself, keeping her head up and counting on how many strokes her arm had completed. When she counted up what she knew was the appropriate amount, her eyes glanced to the left, looking at the colour of the divider and watched it change colour, signalling to her that she had reached the other end of the pool.

Turning on her side, she smoothly tucked herself into a tumble turn. The second her feet made contact against the wall she kicked herself off it with all her might and carried on back down the lane. With the end in sight, Yang used the stored energy she had saved in the first length to give her that extra momentum, and soon felt her fingertips touch the wall.

Yang leaned an elbow against the divider and lifted up her goggles. To the left of her she saw a couple of other swimmers do the same thing while the stragglers were just finishing. Wiping the water from her face, Yang's eyes zeroed in on one of the massive electronic scoreboards around the room and waited to see the results.

Her fist raised high into the air and she let out a loud shout of joy upon seeing her name appear next to number one. A large grin stretched across her face and she looked over at her family to see them all jumping up and down with excitement and hugging one another. As she laughed at the sight, Yang's attention was drawn to the silver medal winner next to her, as she dipped under the divider to congratulate her.

"What a swim! Awesome race, Yang," she praised, wrapping her one good arm around Yang's shoulders.

Yang hugged her back, "You too, Hannah. That was such a close one."

They parted from their hug and everyone got out of the water, grabbing their towels and starting to dry themselves off. A few of the other Paralympians came over to congratulate Yang, and she thanked each one until eventually the gold, silver, and bronze winners were led towards the stage at the far end of the arena for the award ceremony.

There was a system set up so that while the swimmers for the next race got ready and prepared, the winners of the previous swim would go and collect their medals. The three men from the previous S8 race, greeted them as the three ladies joined them before they were ushered up onto the podiums. Yang, Hannah, and the bronze winner Alicia, continued to dry themselves off as interviewers for different TV stations came over to talk to them.

"Yang, you just won gold, how're you feeling right now?" A zebra faunus asked with a bright smile as she held her microphone out towards Yang. Her I.D. card read 'PRESS' in bold capital letters and below that it showed her name as 'Clara Hartman'.

"Oh, I'm stunned, elated, it's a childhood dream come true," confessed Yang, her mind still reeling that she had won.

"You've had a lot of trials and tribulation getting to where you are now, what advice would you give to people who are struggling themselves to achieve their goals?"

Yang took a few seconds to think about her answer as the national anthem of Mistral rang through the stadium.

"It's okay to stumble and fall because what you're going to do is pick yourself back up and keep going. It might take you longer than you had originally planned but the end goal is always there, waiting for you. Believe in yourself, have family and friends believing in you, and if you don't have either one, then I believe in you and you can do it."

Clara let out a quiet laugh, "Now I feel like I could swim for the Olympics."

Yang laughed too, "Maybe you'll be in my place in four years time."

"Indeed," chuckled Clara. "Speaking of being where you are now, you have the four hundred meter freestyle coming up in an hour, do you think we'll see another victory?"

"I certainly hope so. I've been training for so long and worked ridiculously hard for these wins and I'm one down, one more to go," she said, positively. The people around them started to cheer as the music came to an end and the three male finalists posed for pictures on the highest podium.

"Thank you for answering our questions, Yang, and good luck in your next race," said Clara, and Yang smiled.

"Thank you as well."

A few more reporters came up to ask her all kinds of different questions as the men's one hundred meter backstroke took place. When Yang felt as though she was significantly dry she put her tracksuit back on to keep her body warm, and passed off her wet towel to one of the many volunteers. The crowd erupted into more rounds of applause and screams of joy as the men's race came to a finish and the winners were revealed on the scoreboard above.

It wasn't long afterwards that Yang, Hannah, and Alicia were each handed a small bouquet of wild flowers before being guided over to the platform. Yang took her place on the top tier and stared out amongst the ecstatic crowd. Her eyes quickly zeroed in on her family, and she brought her hand up over her head to give them a massive wave. A member of the International Paralympic Committee, a smartly dressed man with a handlebar moustache, began walking up to the three of them and a fish faunus with rainbow scales and fins along her arms followed him - carrying the royal purple cushion where the three medals rested.

Yang waited patiently as third and second place were awarded, and then finally he stopped in front of her and turned around to lift up the golden medal. Bowing her head slightly, Yang smiled proudly as the ribbon was placed over her neck and as she stood up straight the medal gleamed brightly off her chest. Basking in the glory of the joyous screams and applause around her, Yang could feel her heart swell with pride as the national anthem for Patch began to play from the speakers. She sang along with the lyrics, having long since memorised the honourable words from childhood, until the final note played out. Hannah and Alicia joined her on the podium, and all three waved out at the cheerful crowd as the cameras recorded and photographs were taken.

Eventually the three of them were herded off back to the locker rooms where the five other swimmers representing Team Patch stood waiting for her. The men ran towards her and crowded around her in a giant hug as they all jumped up and down in celebration.

"You did fantastic, Yang!" Jet, the team captain, said.

"That's two bronze and a gold for Team Patch!" Andrew hollered, elated.

"And we're going to get more!" Ben encouraged, knowing they had four more races out of all of them to compete in.

"Hell yeah, we are!" Yang agreed, with a nod.

When Yang had first met these guys, she wasn't sure how well she would get along with them, but it turned out her worries had been for naught. They all had similar common ground; growing up on Patch, their interest in swimming, and how they dealt with their own disabilities. They had met each other's families as well - three of them were married and the other two gentleman, Darren and Jack, had a boyfriend and girlfriend respectively. They hadn't known each other for very long but they had all quickly become good friends.

They broke apart from their mini celebration to go back to mentally preparing themselves for their upcoming races. Those who had finished encouraged other others as they stretched and kept themselves warm. Yang worked on her upper muscles first, then slowly worked down her body for the remaining time until her final race.

Yang was sure only ten minutes had passed when she was called to start getting ready for the eight hundred meter freestyle. She couldn't believe how quick the last hour had gone. A few ladies who she would be racing against started to walk past her towards the entrance and as she started to follow, she realised she still had her gold medal dangling from her neck.

"Hey Jet, can you hold onto this for me?" She asked, lifting it off her and handing it over.

"Course I can! Go out there and give it a twin," said Jet, grinning as he accepted the medal.

Grinning to herself, Yang hurried up to join the rest of the competitors. They quickly lined up in the order of which lane they would be swimming in and waited to be called out one by one by the announcer. She waited for a couple of minutes, her nerves building again, and finally heard her name being called out.

Stepping out into the massive arena once more, Yang couldn't stop the grin spreading from cheek to cheek at the roar of cheers from the crowd. As she made her way over to the pool she spotted her family in the same place and chuckled as they waved erratically at her. She came to a stop at her lane and Yang began to undress out of her tracksuit to put beside her towel. She did a few final stretches and began to focus on what she needed to do. She had come here for two gold medals and that's what she was going to get.

Silence was called upon and the thousands of people instantly quietened down. The eight swimmers got into their starting positions and waited for the buzzer. Yang stared at the ripples in the pool, her breathing steady and relaxed as everyone vanished around her leaving only her and the water.

The buzzer went off and with an almighty push Yang dived into the pool.

She paced herself to begin with, not wanting to exert all her energy in the first few lengths when there was eight in total she had to complete. It was around the fifth length in when she started to kick her legs with more power and use her arm to push herself further along. The water filled her ears but she could still hear the excitement from the spectators, along with whistles and horns blaring. Yang counted in her head how many laps she had done, and how many strokes she needed to do each length with a front crawl, and when she tuck rolled into the final lap, she gave it everything she had.

When her hand touched the wall, she quickly got into an upright position to tread water and removed her goggles, to see she had clearly won. The other seven swimmers were still halfway down the pool and her eyes started to sting but it wasn't from the chlorine. She lifted herself out the water and sat at the edge with her eyes trained on the scoreboard once more, ready to see her name appear next to number one.

It soon materialised on the screen but her eyes widened further when she saw the 'WR' next to her time. She lay down on her back, her hand covering her eyes as she let out a choked sob from the overwhelming happiness that enveloped her. Her childhood dream had come true after years of doubt.

Slowly sitting up, Yang grabbed her towel and wiped her face to clear away the water and tears before removing her swimming cap and goggles. As she stood up and wrapped her towel around herself her hair fell down into its ponytail. Some of the other swimmers came over to congratulate her, but they were swiftly followed by two organisers who tried to herd them all out of the way for the next race. Yang quickly picked up her tracksuit and was led over to the podium - where the men's S8 eight hundred meter freestyle medals were being awarded - with the second and third place ladies from Vale close behind her.

When Yang had finished drying herself off and put her tracksuit back on, Jet came running up to her, her previous gold medal in one hand and a suddenly and mysteriously acquired flag of Patch in the other.

"You should have heard your family screaming your name when you took the lead, oh my god! I think they made up half the noise of this place," he laughed. He handed over her previous medal which she slipped into her jacket pocket, and he then tied the flag around her shoulders like a cape.

Yang laughed too. "I wouldn't be surprised. I can't wait to get over there."

"They're going to be so proud of you, just like all of Patch is," smiled Jet.

"Thanks, buddy," said Yang, appreciatively.

Jet headed off to help mentally prepare Jack for his upcoming race, and Yang and the two ladies next to her were called up onto the podium. Yang took her place on the top tier once more, her smile contagious as she stared out over the crowd of elated fans and her adoring family. The same distinguished gentleman handed out the medals to the three of them, and Yang gave him her thanks after he had placed the medal over her head. The song for Patch played out once more and Yang sang along with it as cameramen and photographers buzzed about in front of them, to get a good angle for their picture or live stream.

As the final notes played out, Yang pulled out her first gold medal from her pocket and placed it around her neck and allowed a couple more pictures to be taken before she stepped down off the podium.

Instead of heading into the locker rooms however, Yang completely walked past it and made towards her target. She hurdled over the security barrier and jogged towards the stairs, where she stepped up them two steps at a time, and walked along the front row. A few people reached out to her and she gave some brief high fives and handshakes, but she was intent on getting to her goal.

She reached her dad first who swallowed her up in a gigantic hug and he ruffled her hair, Ghira clapped her on the shoulder and Kali brought her in for a much more gentler hug, before finally Yang reached her wife and daughter.

Admiration and love shone in Blake's eyes like the light of a thousand suns and Yang was quick to wrap her up in her arms and bury her face in Blake's dark tresses. Blake wrapped her own arms around Yang too and held her close, murmuring words of devotion quietly into Yang's ear. After a minute or so Yang pulled back and glanced down at Kit, who was standing beside them both with a giant beaming smile.

Removing her hands from around Blake, Yang lifted up one of her gold medals and placed it over Kit's head, before doing the same with her second medal and putting it on Blake.

"Y-Yang, what are you doing?" Blake asked, stunned.

Yang smiled lopsidedly, "You both deserve these. You conquered your fears and you both learned how to swim. I won these for you two because if it wasn't for the pair of you, I wouldn't be here now. I love you both, so much."

Kit wrapped her arms around Yang's middle and hugged her tightly, "Love you too, Mum."

Grinning, Yang put a hand on Kit's head and glanced at Blake who was smiling at her with tears in her eyes. She leaned forward and pressed a sweet kiss to Yang's lips, who happily returned it as her free hand came to rest upon Blake's extended stomach.

"I love you too," Blake said once they parted from their kiss, and she gently rested her forehead against Yang's.

 **The End.**

* * *

 **Fun fact: The question Blake was going to ask Yang before being interrupted by Kit (and Sebastian) was if she had ever considered applying for the Paralympics. :D Looks like she later did. :P Also if people get put off or confused with 'how're Yang and Blake having a baby when they're both women' (because some people might not like the dust can make babies theory which isn't used in this fic) then let me answer now - a different kind of swimming donation. ;) And Ruby and Weiss adopted! :D**

 **Well, I hope you all enjoyed it, and don't forget to leave a review!**

 **Here's to a Happy New Year to you all too!**

 **Reeves3.**


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